Research project Music, Meaning-Making, and Participation

Choral singing is one of Sweden’s largest popular cultural movements, engaging hundreds of thousands of people each year. A substantial part of this activity takes place within the Church of Sweden, where choirs bring together people of different ages, backgrounds, and worldviews. As such, church choirs constitute an important meeting place in Swedish society and provide a unique context for studying participation, community, and meaning-making.

Previous research shows that music and choral singing can enhance well-being, reduce stress, and strengthen social connectedness. At the same time, music is not a neutral practice. Choral singing can foster community and a sense of belonging, but it may also exclude through musical ideals, cultural expressions, and religious traditions. This creates a tension between inclusion and exclusion, raising questions about norms, power, and opportunities for participation.

Against this background, the project examines how participation is shaped and experienced in choral activities within the Church of Sweden. It focuses on choir members’ own experiences of participation and explores how different dimensions of participation are expressed in practice. The project also considers the norms and expectations that may shape church contexts, as well as situations in which participation does not necessarily entail genuine influence or a sense of inclusion.

By deepening our understanding of participation in choral communities, the project aims to generate new knowledge about church choirs as social and cultural arenas. The findings will contribute to a better understanding of the role of music in shaping experiences of belonging, identity, and meaning-making, as well as how communities can be developed in ways that promote participation and inclusion.