Gender, liturgy and conversion in the Scandinavi-an Catholic diaspora in the 19th and 20th century
Werner, Yvonne Maria LU
(2025)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Liturgical life in today's Catholic Church in the Western world is dominated by women, alt-hough the priesthood remains reserved for men. Conservative critics speak of a feminization of worship life, which is said to be a consequence of the liturgical reform implemented after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. This movement gained traction in academic youth circles, and although women also joined, it was primarily a men's movement, and the liturgi-cal activism became a way of engaging the male youth in church life. A similar development emerged within the Protestant High Church, where the Catholic-inspired ritualization of the worship life served as a bulwark against demands for the ordination of women. The evolution of liturgical... (More)
- Liturgical life in today's Catholic Church in the Western world is dominated by women, alt-hough the priesthood remains reserved for men. Conservative critics speak of a feminization of worship life, which is said to be a consequence of the liturgical reform implemented after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. This movement gained traction in academic youth circles, and although women also joined, it was primarily a men's movement, and the liturgi-cal activism became a way of engaging the male youth in church life. A similar development emerged within the Protestant High Church, where the Catholic-inspired ritualization of the worship life served as a bulwark against demands for the ordination of women. The evolution of liturgical practice, which reflect the social transformation of society, thus demonstrates how the churches simultaneously adapt to and resists social transformations, and how liturgy becomes a site where these tensions are both embodied and negotiated.
Using examples from the Scandinavian Catholic diaspora, I analyse this process of liturgical transformation. My focus is on the role of liturgy in the Catholic conversion movement that emerged following the liberalization of religious laws in the mid-19th century, and the role gender aspects have played in this context. I examine the connection between gender and liturgy in conversion narratives and highlight changes that have occurred over time with a particular focus on the question of the masculine character of worship and the debate on the feminization of Christianity.
(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/658f998e-b1bf-469b-b5f1-e8aea039c6a2
- author
- Werner, Yvonne Maria
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- in press
- keywords
- Gender, Liturgy, Catholic church, Scandinavia, Conversion, Masculinity, Feminization
- host publication
- European Review of History : Revue européenne d'histoire - Revue européenne d'histoire
- editor
- Gruziel, Dominika and Núñez Bargueño, Natalia
- publisher
- Taylor & Francis/Routledge
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 658f998e-b1bf-469b-b5f1-e8aea039c6a2
- date added to LUP
- 2025-10-15 20:06:59
- date last changed
- 2025-10-30 14:34:45
@inbook{658f998e-b1bf-469b-b5f1-e8aea039c6a2,
abstract = {{Liturgical life in today's Catholic Church in the Western world is dominated by women, alt-hough the priesthood remains reserved for men. Conservative critics speak of a feminization of worship life, which is said to be a consequence of the liturgical reform implemented after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. This movement gained traction in academic youth circles, and although women also joined, it was primarily a men's movement, and the liturgi-cal activism became a way of engaging the male youth in church life. A similar development emerged within the Protestant High Church, where the Catholic-inspired ritualization of the worship life served as a bulwark against demands for the ordination of women. The evolution of liturgical practice, which reflect the social transformation of society, thus demonstrates how the churches simultaneously adapt to and resists social transformations, and how liturgy becomes a site where these tensions are both embodied and negotiated.<br/><br/>Using examples from the Scandinavian Catholic diaspora, I analyse this process of liturgical transformation. My focus is on the role of liturgy in the Catholic conversion movement that emerged following the liberalization of religious laws in the mid-19th century, and the role gender aspects have played in this context. I examine the connection between gender and liturgy in conversion narratives and highlight changes that have occurred over time with a particular focus on the question of the masculine character of worship and the debate on the feminization of Christianity. <br/><br/>}},
author = {{Werner, Yvonne Maria}},
booktitle = {{European Review of History : Revue européenne d'histoire}},
editor = {{Gruziel, Dominika and Núñez Bargueño, Natalia}},
keywords = {{Gender; Liturgy; Catholic church; Scandinavia; Conversion; Masculinity; Feminization}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Taylor & Francis/Routledge}},
title = {{Gender, liturgy and conversion in the Scandinavi-an Catholic diaspora in the 19th and 20th century}},
year = {{2025}},
}