Parishes of Sweden

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The parishes of Sweden are subdivisions within Church of Sweden. After the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century the church also became a state church and as such was charged with administrative tasks like as keeping the civic registry. Eventually religious and civil matters became separated in two entities within the same district; the religious congregation (församling) and the civil parish (socken). The civil parish handled municipal tasks, but the congregation still retained a significant share of influence, including responsibility for schools.

Despite the separation of church and state in 2000 the parishes still serve as a subdivision of the Swedish municipalities.