Religious Enlightenment in the Eighteenth-Century Nordic Countries: Reason and Orthodoxy - Hardcover

by Johannes Ljungberg (Editor), Erik Sidenvall (Editor)

This book explores the theme of religious Enlightenment in the Nordic countries during the long eighteenth century. The volume's fourteen chapters investigate how Lutheran confessional culture became intertwined with Enlightenment ideas and practices.

Back Jacket

When the Enlightenment encountered traditional Lutheran cultures in the Nordic countries, the established order changed in surprising ways. This book explores how new ideas about reason, rationalism and reform were blended with Lutheran orthodoxy in the eighteenth-century European North.

Across fourteen chapters, specialist Nordic historians consider this theme from a variety of perspectives. Focusing on rural societies and practices, clergy and civil servants, historiography and material culture, they elaborate the concept of 'religious Enlightenment'. The story that unfolds is not only a tale of clashes and conflicts; it also features creative mergers, unforeseen developments and remarkable outcomes.

By examining religion and Enlightenment from the perspective of the Northern European periphery, this book offers a vigorous reconsideration of key concepts and central themes in early modern European history.

Author Biography

Johannes Ljungberg is a Post-doctoral Researcher at the University of Copenhagen

Erik Sidenvall is an Adjunct Professor of Church History at Lund University