The power of the Church in everyday life

Few people deny that the church has had an influence on everyday life over the centuries. But what power did the Church have over the people?

In the middle of the 19th century, the church and the priests had great power. Everyone who lived in Sweden must belong to the Evangelical Lutheran State Church. All books printed in the country must pass state censorship. What was not in accordance with Lutheran doctrine was not to be spread.

"Salvation Army", detail from a painting by Gustaf Cederström (1845-1933). The Salvation Army was a revival movement with international roots that spread to Sweden during the 19th century.

The great power of the Church

The church was still the great gathering place for the parishioners. It was obvious that most people in a home would be present at the mass. Of course, many went to church because they were sincere believers, others went to church because that was where they heard the news. The church had the same function as newspapers have for us. Important events from the home area and the rest of the kingdom were read out by the priest. In addition, you could meet people before and after the service to gossip or settle business and marriages.

The Church could also impose penalties for minor offenses. Outside the church was the so-called the stock. There the convict was strapped in and had to be ashamed in front of the churchgoers, who had permission to spit on the convict. A person could end up in the stock if he missed too many church visits.

Another punishment was to sit on the fornication stool inside the church. Among other things, unfaithful people were allowed to sit and be ashamed. In 1683, a "whore" on Gotland was forced to sit on a stool in fifteen churches before she was forgiven. It was common with such shameful punishments in old Sweden. In some places, the unmarried mother had to mark her affiliation with a so-called shameful punishment. In some parts of Sweden she had to wear a special hat called "horluva" (somthing like whorecap in English).

House interrogation

House interrogation was a kind of religious interrogation that the priest performed on his parishioners. The priest came to the various homes and interrogated all the chapters of Luther's little catechism, which was the textbook of the faith of the church and the state. The purpose of these interrogations was to check that no one was trying to come up with new ideas that went against the right belief. During these interrogations, the priest kept notes of what each one could do and who was literate.

The house interrogations were also a kind of popular party. They went to meet acquaintances and eat good food.

Priests

The priest was the most important person in the parish. It was the priest who was responsible for teaching in the parish. If the priest was careful and diligent, many in the congregation could read. It was not until 1842 that we received our first primary school charter. It decided that all children should go to school, and that each parish must arrange for teachers and schoolhouses. The priest also taught new methods of farming to the peasants.

The revival

In 1726, the so-called the Conventical poster in Sweden was introduced. The poster banned all individual religious meetings not organized by the church. The Swedish state church was very afraid that new religious ideas would spread in Sweden. Those who broke the poster were sentenced to high fines or long prison terms. One person received e.g. 44 years in prison for breaking the poster.

The Conventical poster was not repealed until 1858. During the 19th century, people began to gather in homes to worship with each other. The service consisted of reading aloud from the Bible and some devotional book. They were called readers by other villagers because they were so eager to read the Bible. They called themselves awakened or saved. They believed that most people slept in their sinful lives. They needed to be "awakened" to gain a new personal faith. It was believed that God had raised them from sinful life and saved them from eternal damnation.

At revival meetings, they could experience a warm fellowship with like-minded friends. Despite this, many of the readers also went to the high mass within the Swedish state church.

Laestadianism and Schartauanism below may be two examples of typical Swedish revival movements that arose during the 19th century.

Laestadianism

Lars Levi Laestadius (1800-1861) worked as a priest in Pajala and Karesuando in the middle of the 19th century. He founded a religious movement, Laestadianism, which still exists in northern Sweden.

During the 19th century, alcohol abuse was very widespread in Sweden. Laestadius went hard against the spirit that he called "devil piss". He was an expert in giving sermons and the visitors crouched on the benches before his violent attack on alcohol. Laestadius' harsh attack on spirits quickly yielded results and the superiority waned in Karesuando.

Pastor Pastor Laestadius preaches to some Sami. Part from a painting made by Auguste François Biard (1799-1882).

Laestadius condemned card games, swearing, dancing and sexual promiscuity. All this led to hell, according to Laestadius. What is typical of the Laestadians are the strong emotional expressions. When one has confessed his sins, the church is forgiven. You often dance and jump in joy to experience God's forgiveness. This expression of joy, which is similar to ecstasy, is called liikutuksia. It is a Finnish word meaning movement. Many laestadians distance themselves from luxury and pleasure. The really strict take away from film, theater, TV, colorful clothes and curtains. Curtains are called "the devil's underpants". The Laestadians are found mainly in northern Sweden and Finland. There are also Laestadians in the USA, among immigrants from the Nordic countries. In total, there are about 20,000 laestadians in Sweden.

Schartauanisms

Schartauanism is a movement that is mainly found in the diocese of Gothenburg. In this part of Sweden, more people visit the church than anywhere else. It is mainly due to a single priest, and his name was Henrik Schartau (1757-1825).

Schartau was a popular priest in Lund, even though his sermons were considered serious. Schartau believed that man on his way to salvation passed certain definite stages. Schartau firmly distanced himself from all religious association life. The important thing was Sunday's Mass and the priest's sermons. Reading the Bible is very important for the members of this movement. The movement that arose is usually called "Schartauanism", but those who can be counted there call themselves "old church".

Many of Schartau's disciples came as priests to the diocese of Gothenburg, where the bishop disapproved of their ideas. To get rid of them, they were sent out on services in the Bohuslän archipelago. It turned out that Schartau's strict Christianity suited the fishermen of the islands because it came to characterize life in Bohuslän and still lives on. The cartel priests disapprove of novelties in the worship service and most of them oppose female priests.

The Free Churches today

The free churches emerged during the 19th century and even today you can see the different chapels in many communities.

The free churches had their heyday during the 1930s. Since then, the number of members has steadily decreased. Today, the Free Church movement has almost 500,000 members and about 700,000 participate in the Free Churches' activities.

//Daniel