Blessing same-sex unions and the invention of a ‘genuine homosexuality’ in the Church of Sweden

Abstract

The Church of Sweden decided to introduce a blessing ceremony for same-sex couples in 2005. This article examines how the blessing ceremony was made possible by the invention of a new 'genuine' homosexuality. Theological issues concerning 'sin', 'grace', eschatology, 'God', anthropology and the status of the Bible and historical texts came to be understood and articulated in new ways when the idea of 'genuine' homosexuality began to be discussed and gained acceptance in the Church of Sweden. I argue that the decision to introduce a blessing ceremony not only represented a change in how the Church of Sweden regards homosexuality and same-sex relationships, thereby formulating and reformulating well-established Christian teachings and doctrines, but also that new exclusions were articulated which strengthened the hegemonic and heteronormative order. The behaviours and social forms that were excluded include bisexuality, promiscuity, promiscuous homosexuality, and polyamorous relationships.

Intimacy negotiated: The management of relationships and the construction of personal communities in the lives of bisexual women and men

“…In the words of Rust, bisexuals are ‘people whose common characteristic is their refusal to practice gendered exclusivity’ (1995: 241; see also Rust, 2000, 2002). Consequently, bisexuals are often misunderstood as promiscuous, closeted lesbians and gay men who are unwilling to forgo ‘heterosexual privileges’, and being on the transition to becoming ‘out and proud’ lesbians and gay men (Barker et al., 2012; Enstedt, 2015; Friedman et al., 2014; Kristal and Szymanski, 2006; Ochs, 2009; Ross et al., 2010).…”

Tensions, Power, and Commitment:

“…Genuine homosexuality is thus modelled on the image of heterosexuality and is only as such allowed in the Church of Sweden. In line with Enstedt (2015), Gustafsson (2001) highlights how "homosexuals" as a group have contributed in an almost constitutive way to a strengthening of the construction of the "right" heterosexual marriage and the place and purpose of sexuality. In a discourse analytical study on how homosexuality was presented in the Swedish Christian newspaper Dagen during the years 2009-2019 (Carlström 2020), three discourses were identified: the affirmative contextual discourse, the middle-of-the-road discourse and the conservative discourse, with the latter given the most space in the newspaper.…”

“…After the "liberalization" of the Church of Sweden, religious conservatism now seems to be in the hands of the free churches who showed a remarkable self-confidence in expressing their views and who sought the public arena much more purposefully than perhaps the Church of Sweden would (2017: 241). Enstedt (2015) describes how the Church of Sweden makes a clear distinction between "good" and "bad" homosexuality. Good, genuine, homosexuality mimics the loving heterosexual marriage.…”

“…Even though Sweden has come a long way in terms of law and official policies, LGBTQ people are in some contexts still subject to homophobic actions and unable to be open about their sexual identification (Björk & Wahlström 2018). In previous research, Christian churches have been described as outermost heteronormative environments (Enstedt 2015;Gustavsson 2001). However, experiences of being LGBTQ within Christian free churches have not been highlighted to any great extent in Sweden.…”

Governing through love: Same-sex cohabitation in Sweden

“…Only an authentically 'homosexual' person, who experienced love, and expressed that love by living as one of two partners as a stable, intimate monogamous couple, could qualify for state regulations of intimate relationships. The process of identifying an authentic or 'genuine homosexuality' in contrast to 'promiscuous homosexuality' is also present in the debates of the Church of Sweden around a possible blessing ceremony (Enstedt, 2015), and the line of reasoning distinguishing between 'constitutional' and 'pseudo'-homosexuals dates back to preparatory reports for the decraiminalization of homosexuality in 1944 in Sweden (Rydstro¨m, 2001).…”