The Church of Sweden is urging its clergy to use gender-neutral language when referring to the supreme deity, refraining from using terms like "Lord" and "He" in favor of the less specific "God." A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, some 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of the capital, the church has 6.1 million baptized members in a country of 10 million. Jackelen told Sweden's TT news agency a more inclusive language had already been discussed at the 1986 conference. "Theologically, for instance, we know that God is beyond our gender determinations, God is not human," Jackelen was quoted as saying by TT. "It really isn't smart if the Church of Sweden becomes known as a church that does not respect the common theology heritage," he said.

Source: ABC News November 24, 2017 08:53 UTC