(ZENIT News / Stockholm, 03.30.2025).- The Protestant Church of Sweden is on the path to requiring all newly ordained priests to officiate same-sex marriages, a move that has ignited fierce debate within the religious and legal communities. A recent legal review commissioned by the Church and conducted by the Swedish legal agency Next found no legal obstacles to making same-sex wedding ceremonies a prerequisite for new clergy members.
While the Church maintains that no one is forced to apply for a priesthood position, critics argue that the policy shift effectively eliminates the ability of future priests to refuse such ceremonies on the basis of personal faith convictions.
The debate has been ongoing for years, but it gained fresh intensity in January when the Church published the legal findings. The review concluded that prioritizing non-discrimination over religious objections aligns with European court rulings on equality. The Church of Sweden could, therefore, consider the willingness to perform same-sex marriages as an employment requirement without violating religious freedom protections.
Not everyone is convinced. Kjell Lejon, professor of Church History and editor-in-chief of «Svensk Pastoraltidskrift» (Swedish Pastoral Journal), has openly criticized the study, arguing that it is ideologically biased. He commissioned a second independent legal review, which reached the opposite conclusion: that enforcing same-sex marriage as a job requirement would, in fact, be discriminatory.
The second report, conducted by legal experts Percy Bratt and Joakim Lundqvist, asserts that «priests of the Church of Sweden cannot be forced to marry couples against their personal convictions about what is right.» Furthermore, it argues that applying different standards to new priests versus those already ordained creates an unjustifiable distinction. If officiating same-sex marriages were made universally mandatory, it could violate protections for religious beliefs.
The controversy extends beyond legal arguments and touches on deep theological concerns. Historically, the Church of Sweden transitioned from blessing same-sex couples to officiating their marriages. Now, it appears poised to make officiating such unions a requirement for newly ordained clergy.
Lejon warns that this trajectory disregards theological, ecclesiastical, and ecumenical complexities, reducing the issue to a matter of employment policy rather than faith doctrine. In «Svensk Pastoraltidskrift», he writes, «The investigation fails to consider the wider implications of making same-sex marriage an absolute requirement for priests. It is not grounded in the Church’s doctrinal framework but rather in a labor-law argument with a specific ideological starting point.»
Despite these objections, a Church board meeting in 2023 affirmed that same-sex marriages should be performed «with joy and free will.» However, even among supporters of LGBTQ inclusion, there are concerns about the impact of turning this principle into an obligation rather than a voluntary expression of faith.
This debate comes at a time when Sweden is facing broader legal and societal discussions about religious freedom. The Swedish Evangelical Alliance (SEA) has raised concerns that religious liberties are being eroded, particularly in cases where churches that hold conservative views risk financial penalties or marginalization.
In recent years, Swedish authorities have cut funding to churches deemed to hold «sectarian» views. A Pentecostal church in Västerås was officially labeled a sect, while another congregation, Furuhöjdskyrkan, lost partial funding after its pastor delivered a sermon critical of LGBTQ issues.
The SEA has called for the UN Human Rights Council to review Sweden’s treatment of religious groups, arguing that national policies increasingly undermine religious freedom. The last such review took place in 2020, and the organization is pushing for another examination in response to growing legal pressures on churches.
The Church has not yet made a final decision on whether it will formally adopt mandatory same-sex marriage ceremonies for all future priests. However, the direction appears clear: priests who are unwilling to officiate such weddings may soon find themselves unable to be ordained in Sweden’s largest Christian denomination.
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