Publishing Death. Symbols, Religious Themes, and Individualisation in Death Notices in the Swedish Daily Newspapers (1945) 1976 - 1995_2

SND-ID: snd0945-2. Version: 1.0. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5878/002096

Citation

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Curt Dahlgren - Lund University, Department of Theology

Research principal

Lund University - Department of Theology rorId

Description

The present study analyses 6,699 death notices appearing in Swedish newspapers from 1976 through 1995, and 5,766 death notices in specifically urban newspapers from the same period. The death notices are analysed using the same method as in an earlier study by theologian Per Block (Lund University), making it possible to study changes in the use of text in death notices already from 1945.

The analysis shows that the number of cross symbols decreased markedly, from nearly 100 % of the death notices in 1976 to 39 % of the notices generally in 1995, and to 32 % of the notices in urban newspapers, while the number of alternative symbols increased. Interviews showed that a recurring concern was to choose a symbol that in some way portrayed the identity of the deceased. This may reflect an increased individualism and a reaction against the anonymity perceived in the cross symbol, which for many indicated only that somebody had died.

The text portion of death notices has changed in that the number of notices containing language associated with Christianity decreased from 1945 to 1995. An attempt wa

... Show more..
The present study analyses 6,699 death notices appearing in Swedish newspapers from 1976 through 1995, and 5,766 death notices in specifically urban newspapers from the same period. The death notices are analysed using the same method as in an earlier study by theologian Per Block (Lund University), making it possible to study changes in the use of text in death notices already from 1945.

The analysis shows that the number of cross symbols decreased markedly, from nearly 100 % of the death notices in 1976 to 39 % of the notices generally in 1995, and to 32 % of the notices in urban newspapers, while the number of alternative symbols increased. Interviews showed that a recurring concern was to choose a symbol that in some way portrayed the identity of the deceased. This may reflect an increased individualism and a reaction against the anonymity perceived in the cross symbol, which for many indicated only that somebody had died.

The text portion of death notices has changed in that the number of notices containing language associated with Christianity decreased from 1945 to 1995. An attempt was made to relate these changes in death notices to changes in the rate of church oriented religiosity, but no clear connection was found.

This study was part of a larger project, Cultural indicators: The Swedish Symbol System 1945-1975-1995 (KUSS II), funded by the former Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Purpose:

The aim of the project was to study the contents of death notices in Swedish newspapers; how death notices are designed today (in the 1990s) and how they have changed over time. These issues were related to questions of secularisation and individualisation in Swedish society.

The dataset consists of a sample of 5767 death notices published in Swedish city newspapers during the years 1976-1995. The data includes the actual text from the death notices as well as coded data describing the level of religious content, symbols used, the size and political affiliation of the newspaper, etc. The data can be retrieved in MS Excel or SPSS format. Show less..

Data contains personal data

No

Language

Method and outcome

Unit of analysis

Population

Swedish newspapers 1976-1995

Time Method

Sampling procedure

Materialet är hämtat från ett allmänt urval av alla Sveriges dagstidningar mellan åren 1976 och 1995. Urvalet gjordes på så sätt att dag och tidning för årets tolv månader valdes genom en kombination av slumpmässigt och systematiskt urval av Sveriges samtliga dagstidningar. Den enskilda tidningens utrymme i urvalet bestämdes av dess upplagestorlek och politiska färg. Urvalet av storstadstidningarna följde i princip samma metod som för det allmänna urvalet, dock istället med ett urval från varannan månad. De tidningar som ingår i storstadstidningsurvalet är Aftonbladet, Arbetet, Dagens Nyheter, Expressen, GT, Göteborgs-Posten, iDag, Kvällsposten, Svenska Dagbladet samt Sydsvenska Dagbladet.

Time period(s) investigated

1976 – 1995

Variables

28

Number of individuals/objects

5767

Data format / data structure

Data collection
  • Mode of collection: Content coding
  • Description of the mode of collection: Vid inskrivningen och kodningen i ett registerprogram gavs varje annons ett unikt nummer per tidning och år. Dessutom registrerades tidningsnamn, årgång samt tidningens upplagestorlek och politiska färg utifrån sex kategorier: liten borgerlig, liten socialistisk med upplaga om max 9 999 exemplar; medelstor borgerlig, medelstor socialistisk med 10 000 - 79 999 exemplar, samt stor borgerlig, stor socialistisk med 80 000 eller fler exemplar i upplaga. Efter detta registrerades om den avlidna var man eller kvinna, personens födelseår, dödsår och dödsmånad. Symbolen kodades på så sätt att varje ny symbol fick ett nytt nummer. Utan angivande av den dödas namn skrevs kungörelsen in och här skildes på fyra kategorier: kungörelse saknas, profan, kristen eller allmänreligiös kungörelse. Samma förfaringssätt och samma kategorisering gjordes med vers samt eventuell annan text i den del av annonsen som inte handlade om när begravning etc ska äga rum.
  • Time period(s) for data collection: 1997 – 1999
  • Data collector: Lund University, Department of Theology
Geographic coverage

Geographic spread

Geographic location: Sweden

Highest geographic unit

Country

Administrative information

Responsible department/unit

Department of Theology

Funding

  • Funding agency: Swedish Council for Research in the Humanitie and Social Sciences
Topic and keywords

Research area

Sociology (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Religious studies (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Ethnology (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Religion and values (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Social behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Publications

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Dahlgren, Curt (2000). När döden skiljer oss åt: anonymitet och individualisering i dödsannonser 1945-1999. Lund: Teologiska institutionen, Univ.
Libris
ISBN: 91-630-8547-X

Rosengren, K. E. (Ed.) (1999). Från text till data: rapport från KUSS II-projektet om sammanställning av en databas med tidningstexter, Lund: Lund University.
Libris

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Published: 2014-06-05
Last updated: 2020-02-14