Jerker Schmidt, a priest and church politician for the Bourgeois Alternative, is one of many who would stipulate that Lutheran priests must conduct same-sex ceremonies, telling Swedish broadcaster SVT: “It’s about the Church’s image of God and the view of man.”

The results of an election survey published by the newspaper Kyrkanstidning earlier this month revealed that the issue is hotly contested, with five of the 11 nominating groups saying they were supportive of forcing Lutheran priests to carry out the services while six said they were not.

Same-sex marriage has been permitted in the Church of Sweden since 2009. But a clause allowing priests to abstain from such ceremonies, known as the “conscience clause”, has been a topic of discussion for years.