Får präster ha en egen tro? : En kvalitativ innehållsanalys av nomineringsgruppernas syn på samvetsfrihet i frågan om vigsel av samkönade par i kyrkovalet 2025.

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines how conscience and conscientious freedom are understood and articula- ted in relation to priests’ obligation to officiate same-sex marriages within the Church of Swe- den. The study is based on an analysis of election manifestos published by a selection of no- minating groups prior to the 2025 Church Assembly election, a context in which questions of church order, individual conviction, and collective responsibility are publicly negotiated. The analysis is conducted as a theory-driven qualitative content analysis. Mats Aldén’s theory of conscience and conscientious freedom serves as the primary analytical framework, with particular attention to his ideal-typical distinctions between individual-oriented, balancing, and collective-oriented approaches to conscientious claims. These ideal types are operationalised through a coding scheme that enables a systematic examination of how arguments concerning conscience, responsibility, and institutional order are formulated in the material. The findings show that conscientious freedom is rarely invoked as an explicit concept. Ins- tead, questions of conscience emerge implicitly through discussions of priests’ personal convictions, their role as office holders and the extent to which individual beliefs may justify deviation from established church practice. The analysis further demonstrates that nominating groups differ markedly in how they position individual conscience in relation to collective norms. Some emphasise the moral significance of personal conviction and argue for organi- sational flexibility, while others prioritise equal treatment, institutional coherence, and the binding character of democratically adopted decisions. By analysing these differing approaches, the thesis contributes to a deeper understanding of how conscience functions as a contested concept in contemporary church politics. The study highlights how conscientious freedom is negotiated not merely as an individual moral con- cern, but as an institutional and political issue shaped by competing interpretations of responsibility, authority, and religious practice.