Kropp och funktion. Om Kyrkans identitet

Abstract

This article explores both the church understood as a function, and the church understood as a body. The functional view has been dominant in the West ever since the Reformation. That view perceives the church, ever since its origin, as one of many groups of those who believe in Jesus and as communities of interpretation in which the sacraments are the religious markers.

The church as a body expresses a unique communion with him who is the object of faith and imitation. This organic view is deeply rooted in the first generations of Christians.

Exegetical study of the church as a function has applied sociology as an auxiliary discipline. This article claims that this approach does not do justice to the church understood as a body. The characteristic criteria of psychology and psychiatry for the concept of identity can contribute to a richer understanding. The post-modem criticism of the concept of identity is discussed in this article and the alternative concepts of «belonging» and «selfhood», which are suggested here, provide further perspectives on the church, understood both as a body and as a function.