Church of Sweden in the context of "House of Vasa"

Religion in Sweden has, over the years, become increasingly diverse. Christianity was the religion of virtually all of the Swedish population from the 12th to the early 20th century, but it has rapidly declined throughout the late 20th and early 21st century.

In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdiocese (with some exceptions), or are otherwise granted a titular archbishopric. In others, such as the Lutheran Church of Sweden, the title is only borne by the leader of the denomination.

The Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches, most commonly referred to by the short form Union of Utrecht (UU), is a federation of Old Catholic churches, nationally organized from schisms which rejected Roman Catholic doctrines of the First Vatican Council in 1870; its member churches are not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

The 1889 Declaration of Utrecht is one of three founding documents together called the Convention of Utrecht. Many provinces of the Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches are members of the World Council of Churches. The UU is in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden; the Anglican Communion through the 1931 Bonn Agreement; the Philippine Independent Church, the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church, and the Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church through a 1965 extension of the Bonn Agreement; and, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church through the 2024 Thiruvalla agreement.

High church Lutheranism is a movement that began in 20th-century Europe and emphasizes worship practices and doctrines that emphasize the sacraments and liturgy, along with a robust devotional life. In the more general usage of the term, it describes the general high church characteristics of Lutheranism in Nordic and Baltic countries such as Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Latvia. The mentioned countries have more markedly preserved pre-Reformation, Catholic traditions and eschewed Reformed theology. From the earliest part of its development, Lutheranism as a whole has employed elaborate liturgies and ornate sacred art. Lutheranism has viewed its faith and practice as "deeply and fundamentally catholic". It is closely related to the concept of Evangelical Catholicism, which emphasizes the catholicity of Lutheranism.

59°51′29″N 17°38′00″E / 59.85806°N 17.63333°E / 59.85806; 17.63333

Uppsala Cathedral (Swedish: Uppsala domkyrka ) is a cathedral located between the University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in the Lutheran tradition, Uppsala Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Uppsala, the primate of Sweden. It is also the burial site of King Eric IX (c. 1120–1160, reigned 1156–1160), who became the patron saint of the nation, and it was the traditional location for the coronation of new Kings of Sweden. The current archbishop is Martin Modéus and the current bishop is Karin Johannesson.

Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events (births, marriages, and deaths) of its citizens and residents. The resulting repository or database has different names in different countries and even in different subnational jurisdictions. It can be called a civil registry, civil register (but this is also an official term for an individual file of a vital event), vital records, and other terms, and the office responsible for receiving the registrations can be called a bureau of vital statistics, registry of vital records and statistics, registrar, registry, register, registry office (officially register office), or population registry. The primary purpose of civil registration is to create a legal document (usually called a certificate) that can be used to establish and protect the rights of individuals. A secondary purpose is to create a data source for the compilation of vital statistics.

The United Nations General Assembly in 1979 adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Article 16 of which requires countries to establish compulsory civil registration of marriages. Most countries have a legal requirement for relevant authority to be notified of certain life events, such as births, marriages and deaths. The first country to establish a nationwide population register was France in 1539, using the registers of the Catholic Church. Sweden followed in 1631, on the basis of a register drawn up by the Church of Sweden on behalf of the Swedish king.

A free church is any Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church neither defines government policy, nor accepts church theology or policy definitions from the government. A free church also does not seek or receive government endorsements or funding to carry out its work. The term is only relevant in countries with established state churches. Notwithstanding that, the description "free" has no inherent doctrinal or polity overtones. An individual belonging to a free church is known as a free churchperson or, historically, free churchman. In Scandinavia, free churchpersons would include Protestant Christians who are not communicants of the majority national church, such as the Lutheran Church of Sweden. In England, where the Church of England was the established church, other Protestant denominations such as Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists, the Plymouth Brethren, Methodists and Quakers are, accordingly, free churches. In Scotland it might be used regarding any Protestant denomination, including the Free Church of Scotland, the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland etc, in distinction to the established Church of Scotland.

Alsike Church (Swedish: Alsike kyrka) is an Evangelical Lutheran church at Alsike in Uppsala County, Sweden. It lies in Knivsta Municipality, a suburb to Stockholm. The church is associated with the Archdiocese of Uppsala of the Church of Sweden.

The Sisters of the Holy Spirit at Alsike Convent is attached to Alsike Church.

The term Evangelical Catholic (from catholic meaning universal and evangelical meaning Gospel-centered) is used in Lutheranism, with those calling themselves Evangelical Catholic Lutherans or Lutherans of Evangelical Catholic churchmanship stressing the catholicity of historic Lutheranism in liturgy (such as the Mass), beliefs (such as the perpetual virginity of Mary), practices (such as genuflection), and doctrines (such as apostolic succession). Evangelical Catholics teach that Lutheranism at its core "is deeply and fundamentally catholic". The majority of Evangelical Catholic Lutheran clergy and parishes are members of mainstream Lutheran denominations (such as the Church of Sweden), though certain Lutheran denominations, such as the Lutheran Church - International, have a solidly Evangelical Catholic churchmanship. Various apostolates and religious orders exist, which herald Evangelical Catholic principles within Lutheranism.

It is closely related to the movement of High church Lutheranism, which aims to emphasize and restore traditional liturgical practices to Lutheranism.