Content provided in partnership with
The Nordic Churches and the Ecumenical Movement
Ecumenical Review, The, April, 2000 by Peter Lodberg
With the rise of democracy in the 19th century, the religious legitimation of state and society was superseded by nationalism with strong religious roots. The movement was from multi-nation states and multi-nation state churches to nation-states and national Lutheran folk churches. This development took place in all Nordic countries, although Norwegian church historian Dag Thorkildsen distinguished between a West Nordic (Denmark, Norway, the Faeroes, Iceland) and an East Nordic (Sweden, Finland) tradition.(3) The former has tended to be low-church Lutheran, with a strong integration of church and state, while the latter has been high-church and confessionally orthodox, with a lower degree of integration.
Revivalist movements in the 19th century were important in transforming the Nordic countries into modern societies. Of the different types of revivalism, religious revivalism came first -- except perhaps in Iceland. Some would explain religious revivalism as a reaction among theologians and clergy to the Enlightenment and rationalism; others would see it as a new movement, which broke the unity of pre-modern agrarian society, created new social forms and thus represented early modernity. In any case, although the Nordic countries reacted to religious revivalism in different ways, the attempts to suppress these movements led to demands for political freedom such as the freedom of religion. Religious awakening interacted with political liberalism, with the result that the clergy lost their control over the religious activity of laypeople and freedom of religion was gradually accepted. This development can be illustrated by the Danish case.
Freedom of religion and the Danish Lutheran church
Freedom of religion is one of the fundamental human rights enshrined in many international documents. Pluralism, which is a cornerstone of any democratic society, depends on the individual's right to choose religion and exercise it freely. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) formulates it in this way:
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance (art. 18).
It is the task of the state to protect freedom of religion, which is often done through the protection of religious associations. But there is a limit to freedom of religion. In the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), this limit is expressed thus: "Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others" (art. 18.3). The state thus has a double function in protecting the individual's freedom of religion: on the one hand, to ensure everyone the right to freedom of religion, on the other hand to protect the public order and the rights and freedoms of others.
Find Research Guides for:
Most Popular Articles in Reference
- The importance of understanding organizational culture
- Credit card attitudes and behaviors of college students
- What factors attract foreign direct investment?
- Libraries Need Relationship Marketing - mutual interest marketing concept, ...
- How to set performance goals: employee reviews are more than annual critiques
- More »