The parish as existential space: A theological critique of territory

Abstract

In this article I call for a reconceptualization of space in relation to the ecclesial parish system through differentiating between “space”, “place”, and “territory”, suggesting that the last term has been instrumental in introducing an ideological notion of space – in short, the reduction of place and space to administrative territory – into the ecclesiological self-understanding of the Church of Sweden. For my analysis of “territory” as an ideological notion and for a more productive understanding of what I call “existential space”, I refer to contemporary spatial theory in philosophy. The object of study is several paragraphs in the statutes of the Church of Sweden. Several empirical examples – the suburban areas of Rosengård and Flemingsberg – help to further the analysis and substantiate my theoretical argument. Finally, I offer some thoughts toward a more constructive theology of space than that provided by the territorial understanding of the parish. Although concerned with the understanding of parish within the Church of Sweden, the ultimate aim of this article is to contribute to a more general discussion of theological understandings of spatiality.