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Gustav III, Enlightenment and Religion : Ecumenical visions and Catholicizing Strategies

Werner, Yvonne Maria LU orcid (2023) p.230-259
Abstract
As part of the “enlightened” reform activity, Gustav III issued a Tolerance Edict for “foreign believers” in 1781. This law allowed Catholic immigrants to publicly practice their religion. The members of the Reformed communities had already been granted the same rights, and in 1782 the ban on Jewish immigration was abolished. According to previous research, these edicts of toleration, in addition to the purpose of displaying an “enlightened spirit”, were issued mainly for economic reasons with the purpose to facilitate non-Lutheran foreigners to establish themselves in the country. This was undoubtedly the main reason regarding the Jews and the Reformed believers. Yet, as for the Catholics, I would argue that there was also another reason... (More)
As part of the “enlightened” reform activity, Gustav III issued a Tolerance Edict for “foreign believers” in 1781. This law allowed Catholic immigrants to publicly practice their religion. The members of the Reformed communities had already been granted the same rights, and in 1782 the ban on Jewish immigration was abolished. According to previous research, these edicts of toleration, in addition to the purpose of displaying an “enlightened spirit”, were issued mainly for economic reasons with the purpose to facilitate non-Lutheran foreigners to establish themselves in the country. This was undoubtedly the main reason regarding the Jews and the Reformed believers. Yet, as for the Catholics, I would argue that there was also another reason that came into play, namely Gustav III’s fascination for Catholic liturgy and culture, expressed not least in connection with his stay in Rome 1783/84. That he, a Protestant monarch, was received by the Pope on several occasions, and participated in religious services in the same way as Catholic believers, is a clear testimony of his Catholic sympathies.

In my article, I am showing how the king's Catholic sympathies came to shape his church policy in a direction that ran counter to the religious ideals of Enlightenment. In line with this, I also critically question the tendency in previous research to contrast the “enlightened” Gustav III with a backward-looking Lutheran clergy. In several cases, the leading representatives of the clerical estate proved to be far more influenced by Enlightenment ideals than the king.

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author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
Religious enlightenment in the eighteenth-century Nordic countries : Reason and orthodoxy - Reason and orthodoxy
editor
Ljunggren, Johannes and Sidenvall, Erik
pages
29 pages
publisher
Lund University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85186520923
ISBN
978-9-1987-4040-0
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
da383192-7b45-471e-9206-f6ae85bc1dd3
date added to LUP
2021-01-13 18:58:56
date last changed
2024-03-18 12:33:04
@inbook{da383192-7b45-471e-9206-f6ae85bc1dd3,
  abstract     = {{As part of the “enlightened” reform activity, Gustav III issued a Tolerance Edict for “foreign believers” in 1781. This law allowed Catholic immigrants to publicly practice their religion. The members of the Reformed communities had already been granted the same rights, and in 1782 the ban on Jewish immigration was abolished. According to previous research, these edicts of toleration, in addition to the purpose of displaying an “enlightened spirit”, were issued mainly for economic reasons with the purpose to facilitate non-Lutheran foreigners to establish themselves in the country. This was undoubtedly the main reason regarding the Jews and the Reformed believers. Yet, as for the Catholics, I would argue that there was also another reason that came into play, namely Gustav III’s fascination for Catholic liturgy and culture, expressed not least in connection with his stay in Rome 1783/84. That he, a Protestant monarch, was received by the Pope on several occasions, and participated in religious services in the same way as Catholic believers, is a clear testimony of his Catholic sympathies.<br/><br/>In my article, I am showing how the king's Catholic sympathies came to shape his church policy in a direction that ran counter to the religious ideals of Enlightenment. In line with this, I also critically question the tendency in previous research to contrast the “enlightened” Gustav III with a backward-looking Lutheran clergy. In several cases, the leading representatives of the clerical estate proved to be far more influenced by Enlightenment ideals than the king.<br/><br/>}},
  author       = {{Werner, Yvonne Maria}},
  booktitle    = {{Religious enlightenment in the eighteenth-century Nordic countries : Reason and orthodoxy}},
  editor       = {{Ljunggren, Johannes and Sidenvall, Erik}},
  isbn         = {{978-9-1987-4040-0}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{230--259}},
  publisher    = {{Lund University Press}},
  title        = {{Gustav III, Enlightenment and Religion : Ecumenical visions and Catholicizing Strategies}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}