In Enskede-Årsta parish in Stockholm, the same development is seen:
– It is exactly right for this congregation, because we are back to how it was before the pandemic. What we see is that the way people are baptized has changed a little. Before the pandemic, it was very rare that we had siblings who were baptized at the same time, says Marie Rehnstam, parish priest in Enskede-Årsta parish.
At least 2020
The percentage of baptisms in the Church of Sweden has decreased for several years and was at its lowest in 2020 when it was 27.5 percent of the number of births. Now it seems to be on its way back to the same level as before the pandemic, statistics from the Church of Sweden show.
In the years 2018 and 2019, the percentage of baptisms was around 40 percent of the number of births, which it also did in the years 2022 and 2023.
If you look at the period, January to September, for the last three years, the percentage of baptisms is around 40 percent.
I think parents have different opinions
Marie Rehnstam believes that many parents have different opinions about baptism.
– Some parents think “no, but we should let our children decide what they want to do”. And then there are some parents, where one thinks but I would like to have my child baptized and the other says no. Then it depends on what you come up with, says Marie Rehnstam.
Caroline Berg and her partner had their son Oscar baptized in Bromma church – and there were no doubts.
– We had probably always thought that we wanted to baptize our son. Then it was more a question of when and how old he would be once we had the baptism. But it had to be decided somewhat based on when it was available here in the church, says Caroline Berg.
Hear more about why Caroline Berg and her partner chose to christen their son in the clip above.