RELIGION OF OUR SWEDISH ANCESTORS

We think of many Scandinavians as being Lutheran, but there is much more to learn about religion in that part of the world.

Before the 11th Century, Swedes worshiped the Norse pagan gods. It was not centralized or formalized, meaning that each village or territory practiced its own customs and religious practices. Normally that included sacrifices and food rituals.

Christianity gradually gained a foothold in Sweden and by 1060 Christianity (Roman Catholicism) was firmly established throughout most of Sweden. When the Protestant Reformation came to Sweden, it became a political tool used by the king to secure control over the church and its assets. The King, Gustav Vasa, proclaimed a state church with HIM as the head. From the 1530’s until 2000, Sweden has been Lutheran with the Church of Sweden (Svenska Kyrkan) as the state church.

The Church of Sweden (Svenska kyrkan) is Evangelical Lutheran and has its secretariat in Uppsala, a city that has been the center of the Swedish church since the Middle Ages. The Church of Sweden has been separated from the state since 2000, which means that Sweden no longer has an official state church. While most countries in the world have no official religion, Sweden is in fact the only Nordic country without a state church, as Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Finland have all retained theirs.

On October 28, 2018, I posted about the Jansonites, a small group of people who lived in and around the area where Maude Olofson Linn’s ancestors were from. Below is a brief quote from that article:

Erik Jansson, along with many Swedes in the 1840's, became disenchanted with the state church, its rules, and the oppression they felt. Erik Jansson became a leader of a movement that rebelled against the state-run Lutheran Church. Meeting in secret in various homes to hear Jansson speak, the group lived in fear that they would be found and arrested. As the group of Jansson followers increased, a plan was made to flee to the United States, to establish a colony where they could worship freely.

 

Members wishing to join Erik Jansson, and the group known as Janssonites, sold all of their belongings and put the proceeds into a common fund used to transport followers and to establish their American colony. The first settlers, around 1,500, arrived in Henry County, Illinois, in 1846 and bought 60 acres, establishing Bishop Hill as their home.

 

You can read more about this short-lived colony of fanatics, some have referred to it as a cult, that demonstrated the extent to which some Swedes would go to in order to have freedom of religion.

Some of us know about the Swedish tradition of Lucia, one of the non-religious highlights before Christmas which is celebrated on December 13. It is named for Saint Lucia who was killed for her religious beliefs. Today, it is a local custom celebrated in homes and in villages. A young woman in white enters a dark room with a ring of light on her head, symbolizing bringing the light into the darkness of winter on the Winter Solstice. She carries food that symbolizes her bringing food to the persecuted Christians.

Midsummer is a celebration on or around the Summer Solstice. Greenery, maypole dancing, and great smorgasbords are part of the celebration. Rocky and I were in Sweden once during Midsummer, and the food spread at the hotel was tremendous with every kind of herring one could imagine. Rocky tried them all. I did not!

Today, few church services are held, and the churches are often locked. A pastor is responsible for multiple churches and holds a service on a rotating basis at the various churches in his assigned area. Attendees today would have to drive to a church a few miles from their home church if they want to attend church on a regular basis.

Today, Sweden is considered to be one of the world's most secular nations, with a high proportion of nonreligious people.

While holidays that we know to be based in religion might still be celebrated, there are few, if any, religious rituals. Swedes simply celebrate the day itself.

There are also non-religious ‘name-giving’ ceremonies (namngivningsceremonier) for infants, with the aim of celebrating the arrival of a new child without the religious overtones of a christening.

The churches are architecturally interesting. Below are a few pictures we have taken of the churches of our ancestors:

 

Ingatorp Church

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                            Malexander Church

 

Farila Church

 

 

                                                    Amot Church

Ulrika Church

 

 

 

 

 

The churches above were places of worship for our ancestors:

Ingatorp: church attended by Olaus Fredriccson and his family, including our Gus, John, and Peter Linn.

Malexander: the church that Elin Andersson's family would have attended.

Farila: church in Galveborg County that the Olssons and Olofsons would have attended.

Amot: church attended by John Barquist and his ancestors and family.

Ulrika: church attended by Gus Linn and John Linn before they immigrated to the United States.

When our Swedish ancestors came to the United States, most of them continued to meet regularly in homes until a church could be built. The services were in Swedish with Swedish Bibles and Swedish hymns. And this practice of being in the Swedish language lasted for many years.

John Linn was an ordained minister and started many churches in Iowa and surrounding states. According to his Dayton Review obit on 23 May 1907, he was converted to the M.E. church in Hardin County and entered the work of the ministry. In 1868 he was pastor at Rockford, Geneseo and Galesburg, IL. In 1874 he was presiding elder of the District of Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. 

Our Swedish ancestors were faithful servants, protestants with some remaining Lutheran, but throughout their lives, they practiced their faith.