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"The Catholic Danger”: The Changing Patterns of Swedish Anti-Catholicism 1850-1965

På svenska

Author

Editor

  • Yvonne Maria Werner

Summary, in English

In the 1860s, Sweden’s harsh religious legislation was liberalised. The Dissenter Act legalised conversions to other Christian denominations, but it put in place many obstacles to leaving the established church, and many of the legal restrictions were obviously anti-Catholic in intent. Anti-Catholic sentiment was also expressed in conjunction with the legislative proposals and parliamentary debates on the question of religious freedom that preceded the Religious Freedom Act of 1951. The fact that full religious freedom was introduced so late stemmed largely from fears that the Catholic Church would grow strong under the protection of a more liberal religious legislation. The article addresses anti-Catholic rhetoric in Sweden from the mid 1800s to the early 1960s with focus on the debates in the media and in parliament. It is found that there was a shift in the perception of the ‘Catholic danger’. At the beginning of the period, anti-Catholicism was prompted by a desire to shield Protestant religious unity; later the objective became more and more secular. Even if the Lutheran heritage still played an important role for the Swedish cultural identity, common values were no longer motivated by religion, but purely by politics and ideology.

Department/s

Publishing year

2013

Language

English

Publication/Series

European Anti-Catholicism in a Comparative and Transnational Perspective

Volume

31

Document type

Book chapter

Publisher

Rodopi

Topic

  • History

Keywords

  • Swedish cultural identity
  • Lutheran heritage
  • Anti-Catholicism
  • Catholic Danger

Status

Published

Project

  • ‘The Catholic danger’. Anti-Catholicism and the formation of a Nordic national identity 1815-1965

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISBN: 978-90-420-3707-6