Religion in Sweden

Religion In Sweden

Sweden was Christianized from Norse paganism in the 11th century. Since the 16th century Sweden has been predominantly Lutheran. From the Protestant Reformation in the 1530s until 2000, the Lutheran Church of Sweden (Swedish: Svenska kyrkan) was the state church. As of 2010, about 70% of Swedish citizens are members of the Church of Sweden, compared to over 95% in 1970, and 83% in 2000.

Religiosity in Sweden plays a limited role compared to the European average. In a 2009 Gallup poll, 17% answered yes to the question "Is religion an important part of your daily life?". Less than 4% of the Church of Sweden membership attends public worship during an average week; about 2% are regular attendees.

The history of the Jews in Sweden can be traced back to the 17th century. Due to immigration in the later 20th century, there is today a sizeable minority of Muslims (5% of population) and Roman Catholics (2%).