Armed and unarmed chaplains in the Swedish Armed Forces : What is the basis for military chaplain´s decision to carry or not carry weapon for self defence?

Military chaplains have been part of the Swedish Armed Forces since the 16th century, when King Gustav Vasa introduces them. At that time, their task was for the soldiers to preserve their Christian faith, to fear God and to be faithful to the king. Today, they are to support the Armed Forces with moral factors, which is one of the warfare capabilities along with conceptual and physical factors. The confidence of the soldiers is one of the most important tools for the chaplain, and it is grounded in being a part of the unit. In this essay, chaplains are asked if they choose to be armed or not and how they reason theologically, in the light of theories of mainly lived religion and to some extent social identity theory. Qualitative interviews have been conducted with nine military chaplains.