Paper short abstract:

The paper will explore the idea of the ordinary by thinking about Sunday service in contemporary Church of Sweden. It will discuss the construction of ordinariness and the various meanings that can be attributed to the ordinary, and reflect upon the conditions for studying ordinary worship today.

Paper long abstract:

This paper will explore the idea of the ordinary by thinking about Sunday morning service in contemporary Church of Sweden. I will explain how - in what contexts and from what points of view - this service can be seen as ordinary, and reflect upon how it has been subject in recent years to debate and reform in order to make it more close to everyday life (that is, more ordinary), and more coordinated on a national level (that, is, more common). Likewise, I will discuss how, for various reasons, the same phenomenon can be perceived as alien or extraordinary. Throughout, my ambition will be to use this example for thinking about the construction of ordinariness; about how the characterisation of something as ordinary depends on perspective, context, expertise and expectations, and about the various meanings that can be attributed to that which is considered ordinary, common, or everyday/mundane. I will also reflect upon the extent to which ordinary worship in Sweden has been studied by Ethnologists in recent times, and the reasons for its relative marginalisation. I will also reflect upon how ordinary worship could be studied by means of fieldwork today, and whether, in this regard, it poses an ordinary or extraordinary challenge.