Faith in Democracy: Investigating Views on Institutional Democracy in Sweden and Participation in Formal Political Activities among Members of an African Missionary Church in Gothenburg, Sweden

Sammanfattning: With the increasing migration of religiously plural groups to Sweden, migrants’ views on institutional democracy in Sweden, in addition to their Participation in Formal Political Activities (PFPA) constitute a rich field of investigation. This thesis analyses the views expressed among members of the African Pentecostal church, the Redeemed Christian Church of God Jesus Connections (RCCG JC), in Gothenburg, Sweden, with respect to institutional democracy in Sweden, and also investigates their PFPA. Such are analysed and discussed in relation to their narratives regarding religiosity, and theorised through postsecular theory and the concept of power. The study is qualitative, relying on interviews and participant observations. Overall the findings are that the interviewees are unanimously in favour of democratic governance in Sweden and regularly vote. Yet, the observed members and a majority of the participants endorse the merging of the Swedish state and church into one institution; they view private and public secularity as an abomination; and take issue with Swedish laws when they clash with the Bible regarding family politics and homosexuality. Despite the often religiously informed utterances on institutional democracy in Sweden and on PFPA, there is a tacit agreement on Sweden having high levels of secularisation, and a shared appreciation of some aspects of secular institutional democracy in Sweden. Hence, through a postsecular lens, the informants’ accounts are of postsecular nature. A number of respondents argue that their PFPA have been influenced by RCCG (JC) leaders. Yet, there is also some recorded resistance toward prevalent discourses on anti-secularity in church.