Conditions for state grants to religious communities

The plan does not address limit values for state grants to faith communities, but it requires that religious freedom is guaranteed and that national minorities' right to religion and cultural heritage is strengthened, which speaks for smaller communities also being able to receive support. The plan also wants to ensure good conditions and independence for public education and association life throughout the country. The lower limit of 1000 served thus lies closer to the plan's principles than the higher one.

• minorities' religious rightsdecisive»de nationella minoriteternas rättigheter till identitet, språk, kulturarv« (party programme ↗)“the rights of national minorities to identity, language, cultural heritage”
• religious freedom guaranteed»staten ska vara sekulär, det vill säga inte ha några band« (party programme ↗)“the state shall be secular, that is not have any bonds”
• strong independent association life»folkbildning, konst, kultur- och föreningsliv.« (party programme ↗)“public education, art, culture and association life.”
• activity throughout the country»Det är viktigt att kulturen står fri från såväl kommersiell som politisk styrning och finns i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is important that culture be free from both commercial and political control and exist throughout the country.”

The plan says nothing about state grants to faith communities or about limits for the number of people served. The closest principle is the party programme's view of civil society, where communities are explicitly counted as part of democracy's foundation, together with the demand for equality regardless of religion. This speaks for the lower limit of 1,000 people served, which allows in more and smaller communities. At the same time the party is restrictive towards religious influence in schools, which makes the conclusion uncertain.

• communities as part of civil societydecisive»Ett starkt och levande civilsamhälle är demokratins underbyggnad.« (party programme ↗)“A strong and living civil society is the foundation of democracy.”
• equality regardless of religion»efter jämlikhet oavsett hudfärg, etnisk och kulturell tillhörighet eller religion.« (party programme ↗)“for equality regardless of skin colour, ethnic and cultural affiliation or religion.”
• restrictive towards religious influence»Därför vill vi förbjuda nya religiösa friskolor.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Therefore we wish to ban new religious independent schools.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan is based on people being able to themselves define and practise their identity, culture and faith, and that support for various forms of expression is therefore important. Where the party expresses itself about public support it wants support to be designed so that it strengthens smaller actors, not the already large ones. A lower limit of 1000 served lets in more and smaller congregations into the state grant and therefore aligns with the plan's principles, while the plan does not express itself about faith communities' viability as a condition.

• support for diversity of expressiondecisive»Miljöpartiet vill att människor alltid ska ges rätt att definiera och utöva sin egen identitet och kultur. Därför är stöd till olika sorters kulturyttringar viktigt.« (party programme ↗)“The Green Party wants people to always be given the right to define and practise their own identity and culture. Therefore, support for various forms of cultural expression is important.”
• public support strengthens smaller actors»Vi värnar presstödet och vill att det omformas så att det stärker mindre aktörer.« (party programme ↗)“We value press support and want it to be reformed so that it strengthens smaller actors.”
• religious freedom for all»Alla ska ha rätt att utöva sin tro, eller att avstå från religionsutövning.« (party programme ↗)“Everyone shall have the right to practise their faith, or to refrain from religious practice.”
• strengthened position for minorities»Deras särskilda ställning, med egen kultur och eget språk, måste respekteras och stärkas.« (party programme ↗)“Their special position, with their own culture and language, must be respected and strengthened.”

The plan does not address threshold values for government grants to religious communities, but explicitly rejects restrictions on freedom of religion and wants to strengthen minority protection. A higher threshold of 2,500 served excludes smaller communities, while the lower threshold of 1,000 keeps support open for more and smaller religious communities. Based on the plan's safeguarding of religious freedom, minority protection and civil society's role, the counter-proposal's requirement lies closest to the party's line.

• no to restricted religious freedomdecisive»Vi säger därför nej till visitationszoner, kollektiv bestraffning, omvänd bevisbörda, anonyma vittnen, preventiv avlyssning och inskränkningar av religionsfriheten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We therefore say no to stop-and-search zones, collective punishment, reverse burden of proof, anonymous witnesses, preventive surveillance and restrictions on freedom of religion.”
• strengthened minority protection»Vi vill stärka bland annat äganderätten, diskrimineringsförbudet, minoritetsskyddet och minoritetsspråkens ställning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen, among other things, the right to property, the prohibition on discrimination, minority protection and the status of minority languages”
• protection for religious communities»Vi ska stärka skyddet för personer verksamma bland annat i media, religiösa samfund och offentlig förvaltning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We shall strengthen protection for people working, among other things, in media, religious communities and public administration.”
• civil society's value»Civilsamhällets roll för att binda samman människor och förbättra integrationen är ovärderlig.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Civil society's role in bringing people together and improving integration is invaluable.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan says nothing about which size threshold should apply to state grants to faith communities, but the only direction the election manifesto provides is tightening: the monitoring of grant-giving shall be strengthened and hidden financing stopped. A lower threshold that widens the circle of grant-eligible communities goes against that direction. The party programme's principle is furthermore that the state shall not take a stand for certain communities, which gives no support for lowering the threshold precisely.

• tightened control of grantsdecisive»Vi vill både stärka uppföljningen av bidragsgivning och stoppa dold finansiering av trossamfund så att de inte blir verktyg för extremistiska krafter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to both strengthen the monitoring of grant-giving and stop hidden financing of faith communities so that they do not become tools for extremist forces.”
• faith communities in civil society»Trossamfunden är en central del av det civila samhället.« (party programme ↗)“Faith communities are a central part of civil society.”
• conditional tax funds»Inga skattemedel ska gå till verksamheter som vill förändra det demokratiska samhället med våld« (party programme ↗)“No tax funds shall go to activities that want to change the democratic society by force”

The party programme establishes that religious congregations shall be given good opportunities to operate and develop in freedom and that the public shall be supportive and complementary rather than controlling. The condition for state support is linked in the plan to the nature and purpose of the activities, not to the congregation's size. A lower threshold of 1,000 persons served is therefore closer to the plan's line than a higher threshold that excludes smaller congregations.

• freedom for congregations to operatedecisive»styrande och ersättande. Det innebär att religiösa samfund ska ges goda möjligheter att verka och utvecklas i« (party programme ↗)“controlling and providing. This means that religious congregations shall be given good opportunities to operate and develop in”
• support for faith communities»Stöd ska därför utgå till de trossamfund som bedriver« (party programme ↗)“Support shall therefore go to those faith communities that conduct”
• subsidiarity as support principle»vill säga vara stödjande och kompletterande istället för« (party programme ↗)“want to say be supportive and complementary instead of”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan says nothing about size thresholds for state subsidies to faith communities, but its consistent line is stricter control of which organizations get tax funds: payments to extremists and to organizations that threaten people's freedom should be stopped. A lower threshold that broadens the circle of eligible communities goes in the opposite direction from the stricter scrutiny the plan requires. Communities' security is valued in the plan, but through protection against threats, not through further subsidy-giving. The conclusion is therefore that the plan rejects the demand for a lower threshold.

• stricter subsidy reviewdecisive»Stoppa utbetalningar av skattemedel till extremister« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop payments of tax funds to extremists”
• subsidies require democratic worldview»Stoppa utbetalningar av skattepengar till organisationer som inte delar det svenska samhällets grundläggande demokratiska värderingar utan som hotar människors frihet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop payments of tax money to organizations that do not share Swedish society's fundamental democratic values but threaten people's freedom”
• faith communities' security»Slå vakt om trossamfundens säkerhet för alla ska kunna utöva sin tro utan att känna sig hotade« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Safeguard the security of faith communities so that all can practice their faith without feeling threatened”

The plan's line is that public support for religious communities should be subject to stricter conditions, not expanded: communities working for extremism or segregation should not receive subsidies and foreign financing should be prevented. Lowering the threshold from 2500 to 1000 served expands instead the circle of eligible faith communities. The plan does not specify an exact number, but its direction speaks against the counter-proposal's requirement.

• no subsidies to extremist communitiesdecisive»Moskéer och andra trossamfund eller organisationer som verkar för extremism ska vare sig få bidrag från det offentliga eller utländska regimer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Mosques and other religious communities or organisations working for extremism should neither receive subsidies from the public nor from foreign regimes.”
• stop segregating support»Stoppa statligt stöd till extremistiska organisationer och andra grupper som verkar segregerande« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop state support for extremist organisations and other groups working segregatingly”
• prevent foreign financing»Hindra utländsk finansiering av extremistiska trossamfund och organisationer« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Prevent foreign financing of extremist religious communities and organisations”