- We see a drop in members and what has above all affected last year is that so many baptisms have had to be canceled or postponed to the future, says Pernilla Jonsson, head of analysis at the Church of Sweden to Nyhetsbyrån Sirén.
Vingåker is the municipality in Sörmland where the number of members was largest in relation to the population last year, figures from the Church of Sweden show.
As many as 64 percent of all people living in Vingåker were then members of the church.
The lowest figure was in Eskilstuna, where the same figure was 48 percent.
Continues to drop
At the same time, the church continues to lose members.
Nevertheless, the loss has not been as great as in previous years.
- The active exits are fewer, and the entries are at about the same high level as in recent years, says Pernilla Jonsson.
A double-edged sword
The church has also had to change a lot during the pandemic.
A large part of the change has been the transition to digital tools at, for example, services.
A double-edged sword, says Pernilla Jonsson.
- On the one hand, we reach more and new groups with the digital worship celebration, on the other hand, the digital exclusion can become even more noticeable, she says.