Paving the way for Pentecostalism: A historical Exploration of post-Reformation revivals in Norway

Abstract

Until 1845 the Lutheran state church held a monopoly on religion in Norway. From the 1850s onwards this monopoly was challenged by the arrival of several waves of missionaries influenced by revivals in the United States. Mormons were the first to establish congregations (1852), closely followed by Methodists (1856) and Baptists (1857). Many of the missionaries were Norwegian migrants returning to their old homeland, ready to spread their versions of the Christian faith. Their main target was the emerging working class in urban, industrial areas. Their success was moderate and their efforts did not result in any large-scale revivals. One reason may be the time-consuming and often humiliating process that accompanied conversion. Before joining a new congregation, converts—most of whom were women—had to testify to their newfound faith in front of the local state church priest, and seek permission to leave the state church. This chapter sets Pentecostalism in a historical context of developments and changes to Norwegian Christianity. Starting with a brief account of the Lutheran state church after the Reformation (1536), a closer look is taken at the late nineteenth century, when the first steps towards lifting the state’s religious monopoly were taken (1845), up to the first decade of the twentieth century, when Pentecostalism arrived (1906). The study furthermore situates the arrival of Pentecostalism in the broader context of missions with roots in the United States.