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Hospital chaplaincy

There is presently no specific Swedish law regulating the presence of religion in the medical care system apart from general laws against discrimination and equal treatment of all people regardless of ethnic belonging, religion, or other beliefs (SFS 2008:567). The role of the state is limited to giving support to faith communities outside the Church of Sweden and to coordinate pastoral care in the medical care system. The Swedish Commission for Government Support to Faith Communities (Nämnden för statligt stöd till trossamfund, SST) which is a state authority under the Ministry of Culture, has given the Swedish Free Churches Coordination Committee the task to coordinate pastoral care at hospitals and in other parts of the medical care system. Two persons are employed for this task. They cooperate with the Church of Sweden, the Roman Catholic Church, the Islamic Cooperation Committee and the Orthodox Churches Cooperation Committee. The Church of Sweden has one part time coordinator for their work in this field.
Altogether, there are around 350 persons working with pastoral care at the hospitals under the common label Hospital Church (Sjukhuskyrkan). About 300 of them are Church of Sweden pastors and deacons, and 40 are from other traditional Swedish Christian denominations. The Roman Catholic Church have eight priests or nuns connected to this work; three in Stockholm, one in Gothenburg and five in Malmö. The Orthodox Churches have two 25% priests at the hospitals in Linköping and Gothenburg. Three Muslim coordinators working 25% are linked to the hospitals in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Örebro (figures are from 2011).
The Church of Sweden personnel are paid by Church of Sweden at local and regional level without any state support, while the other faith communities get financial support from the state covering approximately 25% of the personnel cost. This state support is administered by the Swedish Free Churches Coordination Committee on behalf of the Swedish Commission for Government Support to Faith Communities, SST. It is regulated by two acts and one regulation: The Act on Faith Communities (SFS 1998:1593), The Act on support to Faith Communities (SFS 1999:932) and the Regulation on State Subsidies to Faith Communities (SFS 1999:974). In 2010, 570.000 Euro were distributed from the state to the faith communities (excluding the Church of Sweden) for this work.

D 21 May 2014    APer Pettersson

CNRS Unistra Dres Gsrl

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