Few North Americans have more than a cursory knowledge of Nordic Christianity, with fragmentary impressions of Scandinavian Christians as being mostly Lutheran and quite ecumenically minded. Yet Nordic Christianity is a complex tradition distinct in many respects from Christianity as organized and practiced elsewhere in Europe and abroad. This informative book provides the clearest, most up-to-date portrait in English of Nordic Christianity from A.D. 1000 to the present. Here four Nordic scholars provide historical context for contemporary developments in the folk churches of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, respectively, devoting a chapter to each. Other chapters address major issues of concern both shared by and unique to their churches. Particularly fascinating are these churches' differing roles on the political stage during World War II and the Cold War, their adaptation to the modern welfare state, their handling of theological controversies such as the ordination of women and same-sex unions, and their crucial contributions to the ecumenical movement. The last chapter, 'Nordic Heroes of Church and State,' presents biographical sketches of eight major theologians and politicians in recent Nordic history. Including a foreword by Gunnar Stalsett, bishop of Oslo and former general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, Nordic Folk Churches will help many readers gain a better picture of Christianity worldwide. |
