Religions and languages in Sweden

The official language in the Kingdom of Sweden is Swedish. Linguistically, it falls into the Eastern subgroup of Scandinavian languages. It is worth noting that Swedish is today one of the most popular languages among all the countries of Scandinavia. The population zealously guards its ancient language and believes that its preservation was achieved due to the homogeneity of the local population of the country, when it comes to both ethnic and religious aspects. For many centuries, Swedish names have dominated this territory, regardless of the appearance of migrants or complex political situations. It is also worth noting that the language of Sweden is considered as one of the official languages ​​within the territory of the Euro zone.

In the modern Kingdom, a huge majority of the population speaks Swedish (at least 90 percent). Broadcasting of mass media are done only in the literary state language. In the same way, executive and legislative authorities communicate and issue laws in the language. In addition to this, there are several dialects of this language used on the territory of Sweden, but their speakers are very small groups of people. One of the most significant dialects in the Kingdom currently is Elfdalian. The dialect being a multi-unit complex dialect consists of several different directions which is used depending on the geographical location and differs significantly. Usually, speakers of the dialect reside in the Dalarne district, particularly, in the Elvdalen commune. The total number of speakers of this language to date is no more than one thousand five hundred people.

The next most common language is considered to be Gutnish. This language is derived from one of the ancient languages ​​of the historical local population. Up to 10,000 people communicate in this language today in Sweden. It has become widespread in the Gotland area. More than 30,000 Swedes uses the so called Jamtland dialect in everyday life. It is spoken mostly in the Jamtland province. Up until now, linguists around the world are debating about this dialect. This is so because in the state, it is considered that this dialect is a certain dialect of the Swedish language. However, some world scientists say that this language is closer to Norwegian. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

In Skåne, the Skan dialect has been widely circulated. But over time there has been a tendency to add more of literary Swedish into the linguistic. Although, in general, the Skan is very similar to the Danish language, as this region was previously not part of Sweden. As of today, pupils and students in the country actively study foreign languages. English, Spanish, Danish, as well as the official languages ​​of the countries of the European Union are the most dispersed. In the middle of the last century, English became particularly popular. Many linguists note that English is the second most widely spoken language in Sweden, which is spoken by the majority of her citizens. However, this language is practically not used in everyday life. About 5% of the population considers their native language to be Finnish or Arabic. The speakers are emigrants from the respective countries.

Talking about the religious preferences of Sweden, the main factor was its territorial location. At the moment, the Protestant religious movement is officially recognized in Sweden. It is worth noting that there are more than 3,000 churches in this relatively small state. In the middle of last century, all church ministers were at the same time civil servants. A church tax was introduced, which was automatically deducted from the income of any citizen. However, over time the state waved the close support of the church. Notwithstanding, majority of believers still consider the religious direction an integral part of their everyday life; they regularly go to temples and churches during great holidays, always baptize their children and teach them from birth to respect saint covenants and true faith in God.

Other religions are poorly developed in Sweden. Less than 1% of the population consider themselves Orthodox, and virtually no one professes Catholicism. About 400,000 migrants profess Islam, and about 20,000 Jews profess Judaism. Despite the fact that some part of the population in Sweden is excessively religious, these indicators decrease every year. To date, Sweden is recognized as one of the most unbelieving countries in the world. About eighty percent of Swedes consider themselves to be absolute atheists and do not believe in the existence of higher powers. They treat religion as though it is some ancient cult, and do not consider it necessary to bring it into their modern life.