Skolavslutning i kyrka – en moralfilosofisk analys

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the moral arguments put forward in the debate on end of term ceremonies held in church. The method used was a qualitative content analysis of the opinion pieces on the subject in Sweden’s two largest nation-wide daily newspapers. The material consists of six such opinion pieces - the total number of pieces written on the subject within the relevant time period. The moral arguments, once identified, have then been analysed using Maria Klasson Sundin’s models of children’s freedom of religion. This was done in order to identify how the arguments relate to the religious freedom of Swedish school pupils. The result shows that there is some disagreement with regards to end of term ceremonies being held in church, and that this disagreement can be seen as a consequence of how there appears to be no general consensus on the religiosity of the church as a space. The opinions on end of term ceremonies fall broadly within three groups: those who think that end of term ceremonies in church is unproblematic, those who think that end of term ceremonies in church is inappropriate, and those who think that end of term ceremonies in church is unproblematic as long as the ceremony contains no confessional elements.