| Abstract: | Using a hermeneutical method, this study seeks to understand Christian Zionism as a meaningful practice in late modern Sweden. We visited four Christian Zionist conferences where we observed, analysed the sermons, and conducted interviews. The conferences are almost entirely attended by elderly people and the style is characterized by an old-time revivalist nostalgia. Results show that Israel is seen as a key to understanding a general conflict that the informants experience in late modern Swedish society and in relation to the majority church. Supporting Israel is intertwined with support for conservative values and theology and Israel becomes a nodal point that puts the greater conflict in a new perspective: identifying with Old Testament prophecies and God’s dealings with Israel gives hope and a sense of continuity to a revivalist movement that has become out of date. In Israel, Christian Zionists connect with both the past and the future, personally and as a movement. |
