Denmark, Christianity in

Denmark, Christianity in. Christianity gained a firm footing in the 9th cent., when the Danish chief, Harold, was baptized on a visit to the Frankish king Louis the Pious, and on his return brought with him St Anskar. In the 11th cent. Christianity became generally accepted. The Reformation in Denmark took place between 1520 and 1540. A Lutheran Creed was adopted in 1530 and in 1537 J. Bugenhagen set up a Lutheran episcopate and introduced a new liturgy. In the 17th cent. the Danish Church suffered from the dry intellectualism of Lutheran ‘orthodoxy’ and experienced the Pietist reaction in the late 17th and early 18th cent. A revival of orthodox Lutheranism in the 19th cent. was largely due to N. F. S. Gruntvig. By laws of 1849 and 1852, which granted complete religious liberty, the Evangelical Lutheran Church was disestablished, though it continues to receive State support. In 1947 Parliament legislated for women pastors, despite resistance from all but one of the bishops. Danish missions abroad began in 1814; their most extensive work has been done in Greenland.