Gustav III, Enlightenment and Religion : Ecumenical visions and Catholicizing Strategies
(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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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/da383192-7b45-471e-9206-f6ae85bc1dd3
- author
- Werner, Yvonne Maria LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-10
- 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}}, }