Anticlericalism and Early Social Democracy in Sweden in the 1880s

This article examines early socialist anticlericalism directed against the clergy of the Church of Sweden in the late nineteenth century. Research on socialist critiques and the Church of Sweden is generally lacking, and no attempt has been made to interpret the critique using the concept of anticle...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Church history and religious culture
Main Author: Evertsson, Jakob 1975- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2017
In: Church history and religious culture
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Swedes / Svenska kyrkan / Social democracy / Anti-clericalism / History 1880-1890
IxTheo Classification:CG Christianity and Politics
KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history
KBE Northern Europe; Scandinavia
KDD Protestant Church
Further subjects:B Anticlericalism social democracy the press Church of Sweden 1880s
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:This article examines early socialist anticlericalism directed against the clergy of the Church of Sweden in the late nineteenth century. Research on socialist critiques and the Church of Sweden is generally lacking, and no attempt has been made to interpret the critique using the concept of anticlericalism. This study analyses the Social Democrats’ official newspaper Socialdemokraten and demonstrates that socialist anticlericalism was focused on clerical lifestyles, the church as a class institution, and often religion itself. A critical analysis of the arguments reveals that the satire and exaggeration already familiar to many were commonly used in anticlerical rhetoric when describing the clergy. The ultimate aim of the critique was the abolition of the Established Church because it was considered to provide a conservative religious ideology for the state.
ISSN:1871-2428
Contains:In: Church history and religious culture
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/18712428-09702004