A Homosocial Priesthood of All Believers : Laity and Gender in Inter-War Sweden
(2019) In Church History 88(2). p.440-464- Abstract
- Around the turn of the twentieth century, there was a growing concern within the Church of Sweden that the church was, to a too large extent, managed by the clergy alone. In an attempt to give the laity a more active and influential role in the Church of Sweden, the Brethren of the Church was established in 1918. Since it was only possible for men to become members, the organization simultaneously addressed a different issue: the view that women had become a much too salient group in church life. This process was described by the Brethren and similar groups as a “feminization” of the church, a phrasing which later came to be used by historians and theologians to explain changes in Western Christianity in the nineteenth century. In other... (More)
- Around the turn of the twentieth century, there was a growing concern within the Church of Sweden that the church was, to a too large extent, managed by the clergy alone. In an attempt to give the laity a more active and influential role in the Church of Sweden, the Brethren of the Church was established in 1918. Since it was only possible for men to become members, the organization simultaneously addressed a different issue: the view that women had become a much too salient group in church life. This process was described by the Brethren and similar groups as a “feminization” of the church, a phrasing which later came to be used by historians and theologians to explain changes in Western Christianity in the nineteenth century. In other words, the Brethren considered questions of gender vital to their endeavor to create a church in which the laity held a more prominent position. This article analyzes how the perceived feminization and its assumed connection to secularization caused enhanced attempts to uphold and strengthen gender differentiation in the Church of Sweden in the early twentieth century. By analyzing an all-male lay organization, the importance of homosociality in the construction of Christian masculinities will also be discussed. (Less)
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https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2704f101-a2fd-4829-80b5-1439d028dfdd
- author
- Nykvist, Martin LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2019-06
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Church History
- volume
- 88
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 25 pages
- publisher
- American Society of Church History
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85070404674
- ISSN
- 0009-6407
- DOI
- 10.1017/S0009640719001185
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 2704f101-a2fd-4829-80b5-1439d028dfdd
- date added to LUP
- 2018-05-08 13:04:10
- date last changed
- 2022-04-25 07:04:03
@article{2704f101-a2fd-4829-80b5-1439d028dfdd,
abstract = {{Around the turn of the twentieth century, there was a growing concern within the Church of Sweden that the church was, to a too large extent, managed by the clergy alone. In an attempt to give the laity a more active and influential role in the Church of Sweden, the Brethren of the Church was established in 1918. Since it was only possible for men to become members, the organization simultaneously addressed a different issue: the view that women had become a much too salient group in church life. This process was described by the Brethren and similar groups as a “feminization” of the church, a phrasing which later came to be used by historians and theologians to explain changes in Western Christianity in the nineteenth century. In other words, the Brethren considered questions of gender vital to their endeavor to create a church in which the laity held a more prominent position. This article analyzes how the perceived feminization and its assumed connection to secularization caused enhanced attempts to uphold and strengthen gender differentiation in the Church of Sweden in the early twentieth century. By analyzing an all-male lay organization, the importance of homosociality in the construction of Christian masculinities will also be discussed.}},
author = {{Nykvist, Martin}},
issn = {{0009-6407}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{440--464}},
publisher = {{American Society of Church History}},
series = {{Church History}},
title = {{A Homosocial Priesthood of All Believers : Laity and Gender in Inter-War Sweden}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0009640719001185}},
doi = {{10.1017/S0009640719001185}},
volume = {{88}},
year = {{2019}},
}