Sweden, Christianity in

Sweden, Christianity in. About 830 St Anskar established a Church near Stockholm, but this did not survive. A more lasting mission was initiated by St Sigfrid, a monk from England, who baptized King Olov Skötkonung c.1000. The conversion of the country was virtually complete by the early 12 the cent. In 1104 Asker, Bp. of Lund, became Abp. of the newly constituted Nordic province, and in 1164 Uppsala became an archbishopric independent of Lund (then in Denmark).

The Reformation was gradual and closely associated with political events. Gustav Vasa, King of Sweden 1523–60, was in need of funds and anxious to curb the power of the bishops. Under his protection Olaus Petri was appointed city clerk at Stockholm in 1524, and in 1527 at the Diet of Västerås the ‘superfluous’ revenue of the bishops, cathedrals, and monastic houses was vested in the King. In 1531 Olaus Petri's brother Laurentius was consecrated Abp. of Uppsala without Papal sanction, though the apostolic succession was maintained through the participation of Petrus Magni, Bp. of Västerås. Soon the monasteries disappeared and the bishops became State officials, but only in 1593 did the Swedes adopt the Augsburg Confession, so committing themselves to Lutheran dogma.

Towards the end of the 17th cent. Pietism became an influence in Sweden, and to combat it the Conventicle Proclamation of 1726 restricted meetings for religious purposes. E. Swedenborg tried to combine rationalism and mysticism to form a new moral religion. The 1860 Dissenter Act provided freedom of worship and allowed the formation of Christian denominations. In 1878 P. P. Waldenström broke with the Church of Sweden and founded a free Lutheran Church, the Svenska Missions-förbundet (Swedish Mission Covenant Church), which now has its own ministers and sacraments. In the early 20th cent. there was a revival of theological scholarship, led by N. Söderblom, Abp. of Uppsala, who played a leading part in the Ecumenical Movement. The majority of the population still belongs to the Church of Sweden, which was disestablished in 2000. The next largest denomination is the RC Church, followed by the Orthodox, the Swedish Mission Covenant Church, and the Pentecostals.