Abstract
This article examines the function of scriptures in the parliament of one of the worldâs most secular countries, namely Sweden, with a particular focus on the Bible. By applying Michael Billigâs thesis on banal nationalism, the article argues that references to the Qurâan in parliamentary discourse express what Billig describes as âhotâ nationalism, and the references to the Bible express âbanalâ nationalism. Both scriptures thus function as tools to reinforce ideas on who is considered part of Swedish national identity. The studyâs findings reflect Billigâs thesis, that while âbanalâ nationalism operates in the background, on a latent level, it is essential in order to make the âhotâ nationalism logical. When hot nationalism is expressed, it is because it explicitly voices and reinforces the implicit ideological assumptions on which banal nationalism rests.
1 Introduction
In his seminal work on the Bible as a nomadic text, Brennan Breed calls for a shift in biblical studies from asking what the text means to asking how the text might function (Breed 2014, 142). In this article, we aim to examine the function of scriptures in the parliament of one of the worldâs most secular countries, namely Sweden, with a particular focus on the Bible. The study is conducted from a biblical reception critical perspective. We align with Holly Morse, who stresses that biblical reception scholars should not only categorize results but also include critical aspects in the analysis. This can be done by calling into question dominant strategies of interpretation and uncovering problematic interpretive traditions that have led to, or established, relations of domination (Morse 2015, 2020).
As a biblical scholar and a sociologist of religion, we share an interest in examining the Bibleâs role in political discourse. Drawing on Breedâs call to investigate the Bibleâs function rather than meaning and Morseâs call to uncover how biblical interpretations help maintain relations of domination, we aim to analyze how the Bible reinforces banal nationalism in Swedish parliamentary debates. By applying Michael Billigâs thesis on banal nationalism and other works on banality, we aim to contribute to our respective fields by showcasing how a banal Bible helps produce and maintain national identity in political discourse in a highly secular context.
2 Religion and Politics in the Swedish Context
In Sweden, the Christian Bible has been a nationally important text and common denominator at least since the Reformation, which paved the way for the Swedish nation state (cf. Barrling 2024, 62). Historically, church-state ties were close. The Church of Sweden remained the state church until 2000, characterized by social engagement and openness ideals without religious requirements for membership (Wejryd 2016, 16). Though considered one of the worldâs most secular countries (World Values Survey 2023), approximately half of Swedes are members of Church of Sweden. However, Willander and Stockman (2020, 23) demonstrate a significant discrepancy between membership, religious affiliation, and participation in religious practices.1 Thus, Swedish conditions exemplify Danièle Hervieu-Légerâs concept of belonging without believing, where religion is a form of public utility and the Church represents a cultural heritage rather than a faith community (Hervieu-Léger 2000).
Despite high numbers of membership in the Church of Sweden, most Swedes maintain a strong secular self-identification. Thurfjell and Willander (2021; cf. Barrling 2024) argue that in Lutheran state-church monarchies like Sweden, various Lutheran doctrines have historically been cultivated, creating a paradox of a society simultaneously shaped by religious ideas and characterized by extensive secularism. This dynamic is reflected in the political sphere. Though the correlation between church attendance and party affiliation is stronger among parliamentarians than voters, they typically downplay religiosity in political duties, and religious groups have long been a low priority for Swedish politicians (Karlsson 2014; Hagevi 2022).
Nevertheless, Swedenâs religious context also represents religious complexity (Furseth 2018), with concurrent trends: while secularization increases at the individual level, Sweden has become increasingly multi-religious with greater public visibility of religion and politicization of religion in Swedish politics. In parliament, religious references are more prominent in debates over politicized issues (Lindberg 2020; Jensdotter 2025, cf. Ivanescu 2010), as an outcome of a situation where religion is more frequently contested in public controversies over societal values (cf. Lundby 2018; Jensdotter and Lövheim 2020).
3 The Power of Being Banal
The idea of a banal use of the Bible and the term banal Bible have been used by biblical scholars before in a more descriptive sense, for instance by Strømmen (2023, 2024). Strømmen draws on Andrew Elliotâs concept banal Medievalism, which stresses that âthe power of banal medievalism lies to be retransmitted, and it is at its most powerful precisely when there is no expertise or historical knowledge required to decode itâ (Elliot 2017, 23). Strømmen argues that something similar can be said about invocations of the Bible, arguing for the importance of scrutinizing how the Bible is deployed in political programs and public statements (Strømmen 2024, 52). As she shows, invocations of the Bible and so-called biblical values resonate with the narratives told and retold about Europe and Islam, reinforcing an Islamophobic discourse.
In this article, we aim to apply the term banal Bible not only as a descriptive term for populist invocations of the Bible, but in relation to Billigâs seminal thesis of banal nationalism (1995). Billig distinguishes between âhotâ and âbanalâ forms of nationalism, where âbanalâ nationalism aims to highlight the âideological habits which enable the established nations of the West to be reproducedâ (Billig 1995, 6). When national identity is perceived as challenged, banal nationalism becomes âheatedâ (Skey 2009, 304), and expressed in âhotâ, passionate, and often violent manifestations of nationalism (Billig 1995, 6). Billig stresses that banal refers to the commonplace but does not indicate harmlessness; banal does not imply benign. Billig emphasizes that â[t]he reproduction of nation-states depends upon a dialectic of collective remembering and forgetting, and of imagination and unimaginative repetitionâ (Billig 1995, 10). Billig frames banal nationalism as the implicit, taken-for-granted, everyday representations and practices that collectively form our ideas, feelings, and knowledge about the nation. As we go on to argue, in post-Lutheran Sweden, the implicit, decontextualized, commonplace Bible functions in our material as a powerful tool in the political debate. Despite a far-reaching secularization, in the sense that traditional religious authorities and contexts have lost influence over how religious symbols and texts are used in the public sphere (cf. Liljefors 2025), the Bible still seems to have a privileged position in the Swedish Parliament.
[S]ecular Sweden is permeated by Christianity and full of religious expressions. To a person with a different faith and cultural background from the Christian, both cemeteries and Lucia processions can probably appear to be as religiously charged as minarets and veils to a Swede. The difference lies in the fact that since Christianity is part of what has shaped Sweden over the centuries, and an integral part of the cultural heritage, many Swedes do not react to these phenomena as religiously charged.
barrling 2024, 143, translated from Swedish by the authors
The concept of banal nationalism has influenced media scholar Stig Hjarvard to apply the concept of banal religion to religious representations in popular media (Hjarvard 2013). In a recent development of the concept, aligning with our ambitions, the lens of banal religion is used in analyzing political debates in various hybrid media settings. In their analysis, Lövheim and Jensdotter (2023, 2024) argue that banal religion is a useful tool for highlighting the process through which implicit understandings of religion and national identity become intertwined, potentially leading to increased polarization and explicit expressions of prejudice and hatred toward religious ideas, practices, and people. In their banal form, certain representations of religion become common sense in political debates, activating mechanisms that construct national identity. Consequently, commonplace and often unnoticed religious elements become crucial in the political mobilization of national and religious identities, and in exploring their potential compatibility.
Transformed into a reservoir of signs and values which no longer correspond to clear-cut forms of belonging and behavior that comply with rules made by religious institutions, religion (in the meaning of traditional religion) has become a raw material of symbol, and eminently malleable, which can be reprocessed in different ways as required by those who extract it. Thus religion can be incorporated into other symbolic constructions, especially ones which come into play in the development of ethnic identity.
hervieu-léger 2000, 158
Departing from this development of the concept of banal religion and its importance in constructing national identity through mediatized representations of religion, we move away from the media sphere to the political arena. As will be illustrated below, in Swedish parliamentary debates, the Bible is not used to address religious issues or to justify a particular ideology. Instead, we argue that the Bible functions as a prooftext to show that the speaker stands in a biblical tradition, as part of a collective identity. Building on Billigâs notion that the political discourse is important for the continuous reproduction of the nation, the wordings of politicians in the parliament matter; â[i]n order to speak for the nation/people, the politician must also speak to that nation/peopleâ (Billig 1995, 98, italics in original). In studying the way biblical themes and words are ârecycled, appealed to, exploited, banalized, as they circulate as part of ongoing vocabulariesâ (Sherwood and Bekkenkamp 2003, 3), we aim to illustrate the Bibleâs banal function in Swedish parliamentary debates. This function reflects a form of habitual collective remembering that helps create and support a national identity (Billig), which transforms the Bible into a âraw material of symbolâ (Hervieu-Léger) and a hidden power (Oliphant).
4 Hot and Banal Scriptures in the Swedish Parliament
4.1 Material and Method
As material, we analyzed transcripts from debates in the Swedish Parliament. These debates are at the heart of democracy, serving as a forum for legislators to debate policy proposals. They can be of various kinds, such as debates over committee proposals, government bills, or motions from members of parliament; interpellations, which are questions from a member of parliament to a government minister; and debates between party leaders of the parties represented in parliament (Bäck et al. 2021). As minutes of parliamentary debates, the material constitutes a particular genre, following the rules and norms of the institutional setting, such as addressing all speeches to âMr./Madam Speakerâ (Ilie 2010). The influence of surrounding media logics has changed parliamentary speeches over time, and in the 2000s, they are shorter in length and repeat political slogans more frequently compared to previous decades (Jarlbrink and Mohammadi Norén 2024).
To collect the material, we utilized the Parliamentâs open archives, where digitized documents are publicly available.2 The collection was conducted using a number of keywords related to the Bible.3 In total, at least one of these keywords was mentioned in 668 speeches. These speeches also include the keyword âGod.â To include this term in a study that aims to analyze Bible usage can certainly be discussed. Even though âGodâ can refer to a general religious discourse and many religious traditions, it also can be seen to refer to a biblical discourse. Also, as we will argue, speeches referencing God in the Swedish parliament reveal something about the broader context and the privileged position Christianity has in the Swedish society. Among speeches found via the keyword âGodâ are examples citing the Serenity Prayer, references to one of Swedenâs most well-known hymns, and explicit references to biblical content. Looking at the material without speeches containing the keyword âGodâ 214 speeches are included. The two dominant types of biblical references are, first, general references to Jesus, and, second, central characters and stories from the Hebrew Bible, mainly from Genesis (e.g. 1, 2â3, 6â9, 16, 19 and general references to Adam and Eve, Noah, Sarah, Abraham and Hagar) and Exodus (e.g. 16, 32 and general references to Moses). The result somewhat contradicts the findings in Ole Jacob Lølandâs study of the Norwegian parliament, where the Bible is mainly referred to as a moral container and where biblical texts that include supernatural elements are hard to find. However, Løland focuses on a singular debate (Løland 2023).
As a complement, we collected corresponding material relating to the Qurâan. This material consists of 195 speeches where a keyword was mentioned.4 Both datasets were included in the analysis, but the primary focus was on speeches relating to the Bible, in accordance with the aim of the article. The reason for including complementary material about the Qurâan was to contrast the two datasets against each other; by comparing with speeches about the Qurâan, the banal Bible usage will emerge more clearly.
The time frame of the material ranges from January 2010 to June 2024. This period corresponds to the period during which all current eight parties in the Swedish Parliament have been present. The most recent to enter the Parliament was the Sweden Democrats in September 2010. Being a right-wing populist party with a strong ideological opposition against Islam, their parliamentary entrance is one of the major factors behind the increased politicization of religion in Swedish politics (Lindberg 2020; Demker 2018).
The material was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. After the material was collected, an initial analysis was conducted where the speeches were coded with respect to when they were made, who made them, which political issue the speech was addressing, what type of reference to the Bible or Qurâan the speech contained, and which religion or religions the speech related to. These categories were then related to each other in different ways to reveal overarching patterns in the material (cf. Graneheim and Lundman 2004; Bazeley 2009). The final step of the analysis was to categorize speeches based on how references to the Bible or the Qurâan functioned in either implicit (âbanalâ) or explicit (âhotâ) national identity construction.
5 Result
As described above, banal nationalism in Billigâs usage refers to how implicit, everyday representations and practices shape how we think, feel, and know about the nation that is considered âours.â In its banal form, this knowledge becomes something we take for granted as an expression of common sense. Sometimes this knowledge becomes âheatedâ (cf. Skey 2009), creating a âhotâ and explicit expression of the nationalism that underlies the âbanalâ ideological imaginary through which national identity is constantly produced and reproduced (Billig 1995, 6). In the discussion of the material that follows, we will illustrate âhotâ versus âbanalâ ways in which national identity is produced through speeches related to the Bible versus the Qurâan. First, we introduce some overarching tendencies found in the analysis.
6 Setting the Context: When, How, and by Whom?
The two datasets show significant differences in their characteristics. The speeches related to the Bible are relatively evenly distributed, both in terms of time and party affiliation of the speaker, from about 11 percent of speeches made by members of the Christian Democratic Party, down to the Green Party, with barely 3 percent of speeches. These minor differences break with patterns highlighted in the Norwegian parliamentary debates examined by Løland (2023, 127), where the biblical references from members of the Norwegian Christian Democrats were notably higher.
When comparing with speeches about the Qurâan, a different pattern emerges. Here, just over half of the speeches (53 percent) are made by members of the Sweden Democrats, with a significant gap down to the Social Democrats at about 13 percent, with the other parties following down to the Center Party at the bottom of the list (2 percent). Another difference is how the speeches are distributed over time. From having been between five to fifteen speeches per year, there is an increase to 43 speeches in 2022, and 49 speeches the following year. This increase follows a similar pattern as other parts of the parliamentary work, where policy proposals concerning various Muslim practices in public spaces increased from 2018 onwards (Jensdotter 2025). Another explanation for the increase may be found in the Qurâan burnings taking place in Sweden during this period (see e.g., Jensdotter and Liljefors 2025).
Focusing on speeches referring to the Bible, most of the speeches contain various emphatic forms, examples, or illustration through references to the Bible. Looking at speeches categorized as illustrative, i.e. illustration through references to the Bible, they primarily use biblical content. To contrast with speeches about the Qurâan, it is a considerably less used reference point in such illustrative imagery. Here, instead, substantive arguments constitute over two-thirds of the material. Many of these speeches express a negative attitude toward the Qurâan (Islam and Muslims). Looking at this combination of speeches â substantive arguments where the Qurâan is portrayed critically â these come, with few exceptions, from members of the Sweden Democrats. As a final tendency, speeches about the Qurâan clearly relate to a small number of political issue areas, including migration and segregation, crime and punishment, and security, as well as foreign policy and international relations. Speeches relating to the Bible have a significantly wider spread across approximately 20 different policy areas.
Lastly, the analysis revealed a significant difference in how both scriptures are used in the production of âhotâ versus âbanalâ constructions of national identity. Even if some exceptions can be found in both ways, references to the Bible are primarily of a âbanalâ character, while speeches about the Qurâan are âhot.â It is with this latter category that we will begin to illustrate the results.
6.1 A âHotâ Qurâan
A large part of the Swedish population has apparently had enough of politicians who destroy our beautiful country, had enough of daily shootings, and had enough of the left-green mess that has failed in its task: to keep Swedes safe. When I grew up during the 70sâ80s, we did not throw stones at emergency personnel. We were not subjected to gang rapes, and women were not thrown into mine shafts in Bergslagen to honor some Mohammed or Allah. Itâs about misogynistic, foreign, ancient values that donât belong here. Our Western way of life is seriously challenged by the failed immigration and lack of integration that other parties have engaged in.
Madam Speaker! I want to make a comparison between Jesus and Muhammad, a comparison between Islam and Christianity. Muhammadâs life and deeds form the basis of Islam. If he was a conqueror who waged war, executed prisoners of war, took and sold slaves, attacked caravans, and stole to finance his warfare, it plays an enormously important role for Islam, its emergence, its message, but also for its practitioners. If we then compare this with the founder of Christianity, Jesus, he advocated an opposite message, a message of love, which also permeated his life and work. A Muslim who uses violence to spread his message finds support for this from the religionâs founder Muhammad. A Christian who, on the other hand, uses violence to spread his message finds no support for this whatsoever, since Jesusâ message was simply a message of non-violence and love. I want to recall that when Jesus was arrested by the Romans, one of the disciples, Peter, drew his sword, whereupon Jesus commanded him to put it back. Thereafter, Jesus was nailed to the cross. Jesus also forgave, as you may remember, his murderers. It is a completely different morality and logic than what exists within Islam. I believe that Christianity and Islam are opposites in many ways. Thatâs not all. Islam, which by the way means submission, is not just a religion, but also an ideology with the goal of controlling in detail not just the individualâs life but also the entire society. No distinction is made between the secular and the spiritual. Islam wants to control everything. This is in contrast to Christianity, which mostly distinguishes between the secular and the spiritual. Islamic law, Sharia, cannot be subordinated to the laws of Western European countries because the Qurâan is the only law a Muslim should follow. As Sharia should always apply, there is no need for any legislative assembly. I therefore believe that Islam is not compatible with freedom, equality, or democracy.
Madam Speaker! Many of the Qurâan riots took place in what the Sweden Democrats describe as not only criminally burdened but also culturally burdened areas that distinguish themselves from the Swedish ones. There exists a different value base, different norms, and â if one takes it to its extreme â different legal systems.
By consistently connecting the riots with the Qurâan and simultaneously describing them in terms that evoke parallel societies where values and norms of the âotherâ prevail, the conception of the âQurâanâ as part of this âothernessâ is reinforced.
As the contextualization above shows, speeches about the Bible and the Qurâan differ in distinct ways. In addition to being actively used in constructions of a desirable Swedish national identity, the comparison shows similar patterns of politicization of religion in the Swedish parliament as found in previous studies (Jensdotter 2025, 2026; Lindberg 2020). The Qurâan is discussed in relation to politicized issues such as migration, segregation, crime and punishment, and security (cf. Ivanescu 2010). The way the Qurâan is explicitly framed as oppositional or even threatening to Swedish values and culture highlights how the underlying banal nationalism becomes âheatedâ and expressed as âhotâ nationalism. Additionally, there is a conflict about the role the Qurâan has come to play in Swedish politics, present in the material, where members of parliament accuse each other of being either populists or naive. No corresponding conflict about the Bible and its role in Swedish political debate exists in the material, to which we now turn.
6.2 A âBanalâ Bible
Our interest here is in the function of the Bible in the banal â the implicit and taken-for-granted everyday â productions of national identity. Ultimately, the analysis shows that there is an overall presupposition that those who belong to the national group identity âSwedesâ are familiar with the Bible and that the Bible can be deployed to resonate with Swedish hearts, generate feelings, or enhance or explain political arguments. At the same time, it is taken for granted that the group âSwedesâ are rational, modern, and secular, who do not believe in the Bibleâs religious message(s), including stories of miracles or otherworldly agents such as angels and demons. Simply put, politicians assume that Swedes know their Bible, but donât believe a word in it. This is a contrast to assumptions about the Qurâan, which the group âMuslimsâ is supposed to both believe and venerate.
Further, in contrast to the Qurâan, the Bible and biblical motifs or terms are frequently used as a common story or point of reference that can help frame, interpret, or comment on political events and reinforce political arguments. The Bible thus functions as a sort of common national archive to draw from, distanced from religious argumentation.
The Jordan River, which is the famous historical river where Jesus was baptized, is 90 percent gone. However, many sewers are led into it, so if Jesus had been baptized today, his white robe would probably have been quite brown on the way up. What does this have to do with Sweden? Well, we live as if we had unlimited water.
These references are often short and vague, reflecting what Jacques Berlinerblau has identified as a âcite-and-runâ tactic (Berlinerblau 2007). For instance Genesis 41, where Joseph interprets Pharaohâs dreams to store for bad years to come, is highlighted as the earliest documented social insurance model (Parliament of Sweden 2023b) and Exodus 20/32 is referenced when something is said to beâor not to beâa âcommandmentâ: âIt was not really Swedish tax legislation that Moses chiseled onto a stone tablet at Mount Sinaiâ (Parliament of Sweden 2020a). Genesis 1 is used to illustrate a supposed overrated reform: âThey praised it so much that it gave the impression that God did not even rest on the seventh day but then created a RUT subsidy for the needyâ (Parliament of Sweden 2019). Another example is when Gen. 3:12 is used to illustrate how decision-makers try to evade responsibility: âJust as Adam pointed to Eve, everyone involved in the Swedish school system pointed to each other and said: It is she, he, that, or it that is responsibleâ (Parliament of Sweden 2018). This type of reference illustrates how the Bible is used to create recognition among the audience beyond its religious content. In addition, the phrase âas it is written in the Bibleâ recurs to emphasize the validity of an argument (cf. Løland 2023). Interestingly, it can be enough that something sounds biblical to give an argument validity, one example being: âWork prevents many occasions for sin, it says in the Bible. There is much truth in thatâ (Parliament of Sweden 2017b). The fact that the cited phrase derives from the Lutheran Catechism, and not the Bible, seems not to bother either the speaker or the audience. As Yvonne Sherwood argues, as long as it sounds biblical, that is enough to gain power in political debates, a phenomenon she terms as a quasi-biblical language (Sherwood 2006, 48).
Finally, Mr. Speaker: Since the Minister of Finance mentioned manna from heaven in the previous speech, I want to say something that probably everyone in this country knows. It is written in Exodus about manna from heaven. It came during the Israelitesâ 40-year exodus from Egypt when Moses received manna from heaven. According to historians, this happened somewhere between 2000 and 4000 BC. It is uncertain to build economic forecasts on the assumption that it will happen again during the next parliamentary term.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, I want to start with the following quote: âAnd God said, âLet there be lightâ; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good.â Yes, you canât go further back than this if you want to use more contemporary sources. Whether you believe in the words of the Bible or not, it is a beautiful story about how we humans need light, warmth, and security.
When Sarah could not have children, she told her husband, Abraham, to go to the maidservant Hagar so she could then take the child as her own. That might have been a solution 3,000 years ago, if one believes the Bible. Corresponding stories of strong desire for children exist among all peoples and in all religions; it is a fairly universal wish. Nowadays, we solve childlessness in a different way, namely with medical help.
Also in this speech, the Bible is attributed a timeless validity through its depiction of a universal human longing.
In the abovementioned examples, the Bible functions as a common denominator, not as a religious authority, but as a âbeautifulâ story everyone can relate to. The banal Bibleâs function is further detectable in more implicit references, as fixed expressions, for instance when 1 Cor. 13:13 (âAnd now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is loveâ) is reframed as â[a] good infrastructure is built on functioning air, sea, rail, and road transport, and the greatest of these is the roadâ (Parliament of Sweden 2021). One recurring fixed expression is âlike the devil reads the Bible,â which illustrates inherited meanings and connotations. Speakers using the phrase sometimes apologize for the expression or avoid naming the devil (âa certain gentleman from southern latitudes,â âbeing,â âpotentateâ), even if the devil, for most, is a symbol which has lost its religious significance. Other examples include the Bible being used as an emphatic form in statements on how something can be âread like a Bibleâ or have âthe weight of the Bible.â To âlay oneâs hand on the Bibleâ is to promise something with solemnity. The Bible is here supposed to carry a certain weight, a moral, cultural, or wield value leverage which other writings are not supposed to entail in a similar way. There is thus a certain capital that comes only from stating the word âthe Bible,â in contrast to the (non)capital of the Qurâan. This, we argue, illustrates the function of the Bible not as a religious text but as a symbol, a container of a common identity (cf. Lundmark and Mauritsen 2022). Likewise, while the Qurâan is framed as a religious text, it is also reduced to a symbol; it is only cited twice in our material. Once with positive connotation; Surah 5:32 (Parliament of Sweden 2012a), and once with negative connotations where the âversesâ 9:5 and 9:32 are referred to illustrate that Islam is a religion of violence (Parliament of Sweden 2010). Instead, it is referenced as an emblem of a religious minority and reduced to the âother.â
Madam Speaker! The universal miracle cure in Sweden in 2020 seems to be the Social Insurance Agency. It was the same last year, but now it has reached unprecedented heights. It is as if Jesus Christ himself has taken over the agency. Go there, and you will be healed immediately! Do you have a tumor that fills half your skull? Oh, pull yourself together and choose joy! Instead of laying on of hands, we now have case management. And you are declared healthy immediately. Praise the Social Insurance Agency and the governmentâs directives! After a visit to the agency, ME patients can walk on water.
The quote both implies that the audience is familiar with the text (Swedes know their Bible) and that the audience, too, is distanced from it in a religious sense (Swedes are a rational, post-Lutheran secular people who donât believe a word in it). Both these assumptions pose a demarcation of the supposed audience.
7 Final Discussion
In this article, we have investigated how scriptures function to create or maintain national identity in Swedish parliamentary debates, particularly the Bible. In the material, the Bible is referred to as a marginal phenomenon that appears in relation to issues that have no explicit or intentional religious meaning. However, references to the Bible serve as a backdrop for religiosity in society, and, we argue, an implicit demarcation in group identity. The Bible has, as Marianne Bjelland Kartzow and Karin Neutel state, turned into a general majoritarian symbol (Bjelland Kartzow and Neutel 2023) and references to the Bible can be described, using Billigâs framework, as an âideological habitâ which enables the Swedish nation to be reproduced. We term the way the Bible functions in the debates as a banal Bible, reinforcing banal nationalism.
The Bibleâs banal function in the material affirms Hanna Stenströmâs analysis of how biblical themes, narratives, and metaphors become detached from the Bible itself and emerge in Swedish everyday language (Stenström 2023). Stenström uses the concept of a secular Bible to describe how (parts of) the Christian canon forms parts of Swedenâs cultural heritage in contexts where its religious authority is not recognized. Instead, the secular Bible provides language, narratives, metaphors, and other textual elements to form collective and individual identities. The point of the secular Bible is not to say something about the Bible itself, but to use the Bible to comment on something else.
The banal Bible is not used in the parliamentary debates in an explicit way to emphasize group identity, but generates or strengthens national identity or belonging in a more indirect way. There is a taken-for-granted notion that biblical terms, expressions, or quotes should make sense and mean something to the listeners, adding something to the speech that other sources would not add. It is assumed that the Bible is a common and unique reference, that it can generate particular feelings, help explain political events, or emphasize their meanings. James Crossley has noticed something similar in English political discourse, arguing that: âThe contents of the Bible do not really matter, at least not in any extensive sense [â¦] the Bible is represented by a few stock figures [â¦] to convey its message in a split secondâ (Crossley 2024, 375). The banal Bible thus provides political currency and capital, as well as affective investments (cf. Strømmen 2024, 262). The banal Bible becomes a prop used not only to reinforce an argument but also to create a sense of community.
The dynamic described above is reinforced by the contrast between how the Bible and the Qurâan are framed in the speeches: the Bible is referenced implicitly, while explicit references to the Qurâan are used to define âthe other.â This finding resonates with what Oliphant has shown, and like Oliphant, we argue that the use of the Bible in Swedish parliament speeches fades into the background and operates in a naturalized way as a reference to a certain âheritageâ or âculture,â detached from religious meaning. A reverse argument can be made for the Qurâan: With Islam becoming a more visible and contested religion in the Swedish public and political sphere, references to the Qurâan do not go unnoticed in a similar way. References to the Qurâan have not only increasingly become part of the political debate, but they have also been âheated upâ as producers of national identity (cf. Skey 2009).
The historical influence of the Bible in secularized Sweden means that the process in which the Bible is invoked entail an authority that can be difficult to challenge and easy to exploit (cf. Hunter 2003, 98). The implicit, taken-for-granted, everyday representations of the Bible as key stories and characters that âeveryoneâ is assumed to know about, but not believe in, help form ideas about the nation and generate privileges to the majority group. Similar to Lundmarkâs findings regarding banal Christian elements, the banal Bible evokes nostalgia, which influences conceptions of Swedish identity. It does not even have to be actual biblical content that is invoked; it could be something that sounds biblical or just a mention of the physical object. âThe Bibleâ is simply âraw powerâ (Berlinerblau 2007, 2), not only in political debates but also when it comes to creating or maintaining a collective identity.
Like Morse, we argue that one aim of biblical reception criticism is to examine and challenge biblical interpretationsâ ideological consequences. In this study, we have illustrated how a banal Bible functions in the Swedish Parliament to reinforce ideas on who is considered part of Swedish national identity. Politicians from all over the political spectrum try to find a common denominator, and in the speeches, the Bible is attributed this role. In a context increasingly influenced by religious diversity and politicization of religion, including an anti-Muslim discourse, the Bible risks reinforce a more explicit articulated intertwinement between religious and national identity. The studyâs findings reflect Billigâs thesis, that while âbanalâ nationalism operates in the background, on a latent level, it is essential in order to make the âhotâ nationalism logical. When hot nationalism is expressed, it is because it explicitly voices and reinforces the implicit ideological assumptions on which banal nationalism rests.
This function of the Bible as raw material that helps produce and maintain a national or ethnic identity rather than a religious identity, we argue, can be framed as a banal Bible. Through pinpointing this particular function of the Bible, we hope to contribute to a greater understanding of scripturesâ role(s) in the public sphere.
Approximately 10% of Swedes belonged to religious minorities, according to 2019 surveys (Willander and Stockman 2020). This figure is expected to rise in the coming decades due to demographic factors (Thurfjell and Willander 2021).
We applied the following keywords (aware of their limitations; we could have missed relevant material, and it could be argued that some reflect religion more broadly). Keywords [Swedish search terms] (number of speeches): Bible [bibel*/biblar*/biblisk*] (97), God [gud] (470), Jesus [Jesus] (28), Christ [Kristus] (6), Moses [Mose*] (3), Noah [Noa*] (1), Adam and Eve [âeva och adamâ/âadam och evaâ] (2), Eden [Eden], gospel [evangeli*] (14), prophet [profet/profetisk/profetia] (61), commandment [budord] (3), apocalypse [apokalyps/armageddon] (6), disciples [lärjunge] (6), Testament [gamla testamentet/nya testamentet] (6).
Keywords [Swedish search terms] (number of speeches): Qurâan [koran*] (122), Muhammad [Muhammed/Mohammed] (18), Allah [Allah] (20), Prophet [Profet*] (20), Sharia [Sharia] (50), surah [sura] (0). As with the keywords concerning the Bible, a similar argument can be made here. We are aware that Sharia law, as the most obvious example, is not restricted to the Qurâan, but including Sharia in the search for speeches concerning the Qurâan will create a better dataset corresponding with our research intentions.
All translations from Swedish to English are by the authors.
On what constitutes biblical literacy, see contributions in Edwards (ed.) 2015.
References
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