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Danish and Catholic: An overview of politics and Catholicism in the world’s least religious country
Abigail Bartels, University of Notre Dame
Why study Denmark?
Why study Catholicism?
• Current international debate about religious freedom
• High Protestant affiliation • Society which values privacy
• Existing literature on treatment of Jews and Muslims in European countries
• Long history of religious influence
• Least religious country in the world
• State church
Research Questions
• How does Danish society view religions? • What makes a religion “acceptable” as opposed to “unacceptable”? • How does Danish society view Catholics? • Little existing literature on treatment of Catholics
• Catholic history
Hypotheses
• Hypothesis 1: Because of nationalism and the emphasis on tradition in Danish society, religions are ostracized if they tend to “violate” aspects of the Danish identity. • Hypothesis 2: Because of nationalism, immigration, tradition, and privacy, Danish society considers Catholicism as an “other” identity contrary to the true Danish identity. • Hypothesis 3: Because Catholics are considered “others,” they do not have the political power that Evangelical Lutherans do.
• How does the Danish view of Catholics shape their political power? 1
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Methodology and Research Design
• Mixed Methods
– Historical records on population and religion in Danish archives
– Eyewitness accounts of the impacts of the Reformation
– Academic analyses
– Interviews
Interviews
• Seven Catholics in Denmark
– Two religious: one nun, one seminarian
– Five lay
• One political leader in Denmark
– Stig Grenov
• Other statistics:
– three women, five men
– youngest aged 21; eldest in 50s
– all Catholics residents of Aarhus, largest city on mainland of Denmark
Where it all begins: pre‐1500s
Historical Review
2
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The turning point: the 1500s
• 1513 – Sweden rebels, Pope intervenes, Denmark upset
• Identity becomes a question
• 1525 – Protestantism introduced to Denmark, mass abolished
• 1555 – Peace of Augsburg, Catholics abolished
• Identity question is answered
The religious freedom debate: 1600s‐1990s
• 1683 – Catholics prohibited from earning property
• 1684 – one Catholic Church permitted in the country
• Baptists to the rescue
• Increased nationalism at this time
3
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Recent developments: The Porvoo Statement
• Document designed to encourage unity among European Christian Churches
• Catholic Church as a whole disagreed due to definition of communion
• Denmark disagreed due to the use of the phrase visible unity
“Thus one parish council writes that ‘the people is the church, and with that the church is visible; therefore, we do not need any Porvoo statement’. Here the people of God, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark and the national Danish people merge effortlessly into a single identity.”
Peter Lodberg, 1994
Loss of land and creation of national identity
Themes
According to the maps, there is a correlation between increase in nationalism and decrease in land under Danish rule. (Results for Hypothesis 2)
According to the academic literature, this correlation is actually a causation. 4
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Catholics as the Faith of Immigrants
Religion as tradition of identity, not of faith
“In terms of its role vís‐á‐vís society it has traditionally, due to its immigrant nature, been seen as something foreign and perhaps even exotic in some circles. The Lutheran Church here in Denmark is by its very nature rooted in the cultural heritage of Denmark, and can thus be considered an institution which many people can easily relate to, because it has been a fundamental part of Danish society for centuries, but the Catholic Church cannot easily • Statistically, around 80% of Danes are baptized or confirmed in the Lutheran Church, and 90% consider themselves Protestant. • Denmark is ranked the least religious country in the world.
Faith as private
“In the Danish Lutheran church it is very common to attend a service without even having to exchange a greeting with a fellow believer in the church, because you’re not there to show a bond with other believers, but just to nurture your own relationship with God. This might seem as a caricature, but this attitude means that we don’t show our religious feelings and emotions as much, and are therefore less open in public about our faith, which also has Expression of views/opinions
Regarding Catholic Church: “It does not have a voice in the public debate.”
Political Impacts on Catholics
(Results for Hypothesis 3)
Voting behavior
“In recent years I’ve become very apathetic when it comes to politics…It doesn’t mean that I don’t want to use my right to vote, [and] it’s not that I feel there’s one particular party which I support wholeheartedly. I tend to just go for the one that I find to be the lesser of several evils, and depending on whatever current issues I think are most important to worry about.”
5
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Charity work
“Even though many within the Church would like it to engage much more with society, addressing the problems facing our country and the world, it is almost impossible for it to do so…the Church is still facing general prejudice in society, and especially amongst the media, making it almost mission impossible to have any positive influence at all.”
Results for Denmark
• Diminished democracy
• Increased discrimination/alienation of religious minorities
• Polarization as a replacement of integration
• Loss of other aspects of the Danish identity
Results Internationally
• Warning of treatment of religious minorities
Thank you!
• Example of impact of tight relationships between Church and State
Any questions?
• Debate on religious freedom
Hypothesis, restated
• Because of nationalism and the emphasis on tradition in Danish society, religions are ostracized if they tend to “violate” aspects of the Danish identity. • Because of Catholic stances on social issues, the hierarchical nature of the Catholic Church, and the makeup of the Catholic population in Denmark, Danish society considers Catholicism as an
6
Danish and Catholic:
An Overview of Politics and Catholicism in the World’s Least Religious Country
Abigail Bartels1
1
I am especially grateful to Dr. David Sikkink of the Sociology Department at the University of Notre Dame for
advising me on this paper, and to the Nanovic Institute and Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement for
funding my research for this paper. I would also like to thank Rasmus Schmidt Jørgensen for his never-ending
support (and translation assistance) throughout this process.
I. Introduction
In a country with little inclination toward religion, those who believe in a God stand out.
Denmark, a nation with a long history of religious influence, holds the title of least religious
country in the world, and the Muslims and Jews who live there certainly do not fit in with this
atheistic mentality. However, another group also stands out. This group is particularly
fascinating because in most other nations in Europe, they make up a majority. Here, in the nation
of Denmark, they have been persecuted and exiled to the point that their numbers are only now
beginning to rise. These are the Catholics.
The Catholic identity is formed by boundaries that reflect the Catholic faith. The Danish
identity is formed by boundaries that reflect the common Danish history. It is the conflict or
perceived conflict between these boundaries that I wish to discuss in this paper. Given these
sense of identity, what does it mean to be Danish and Catholic?
1
II. Justification
Why study this issue?
There is an ongoing debate internationally regarding religious freedom. In the United
States, this applies especially to recent high-profile lawsuits involving bakers and photographers.
In Europe, this conversation centers on the situation of immigrants as they and their religious
beliefs become more widespread throughout the European Union. Also, given recent attacks in
France and conflicts in Syria, the question of religious freedom and the political power of
religious minorities is timely and important.
Why study Denmark?
In light of this issue, Denmark is a country of extremes and of paradoxes. It is the least
religious country in the world; yet it has a long history of religious influence. Also, Denmark
uses state revenue to maintain a state church with which many of its members identify but whose
principles only a fraction of the people (or the pastors) believe.
Denmark provides an opportune case study for two reasons. First, Denmark puts the
international and national levels of this conflict into conversation with each other, as a member
of the close-knit European community. Second, as a nationalistic society, Denmark reveres some
of its religious history but not some other aspects. We can therefore track changes in sentiment
toward religion accurately using artifacts and writings from different time periods.
Why study Catholicism?
2
Denmark has a high Protestant (Evangelical Lutheran) population and a long history of
Catholic involvement. Much has been written regarding the treatment of Jews and Muslims in
European countries, but very little has been written about the treatment of Catholics in European
countries. This may be due to the fact that in many European countries, Catholics make up a
majority of the population. However, in Scandinavia, that is not the case. Accordingly, studying
Catholics as a religious minority will give us more insight into types of religious discrimination
that are generally aimed at minorities and other types that are aimed specifically at certain
religions.
Research Questions
In light of these social phenomena, four questions arise. First, what is the place and role
of religion in Danish society? Second, what makes a religion compatible with the Danish identity
as opposed to incompatible? In other words, what aspects of religious identities conflict with the
boundaries of the Danish identity? Third, how does Danish society view the Catholic Church
and, by extension, Catholics and Catholicism? Fourth, and most specifically, how does the
Danish view of Catholics shape the political standing of Catholics within Danish society?
Hypotheses
Hypothesis 1: Because of nationalism and the emphasis on tradition in Danish society,
religions are ostracized if they tend to conflict with aspects of the Danish identity.
Hypothesis 2: Because of nationalism, immigration, tradition, and privacy, Danish
society considers Catholicism as an “other” identity contrary to the true Danish identity.
3
Hypothesis 3: Because Catholics are considered “others,” they have a lower level of
political power than mainstream Evangelical Lutherans do.
4
III. Research Design and Methodology
For this project, I decided to use mixed methods to get the most holistic understanding of
the topic possible.
For the historical section of the study, I used historical records on population and religion
in the Danish archives, as well as accounts of the impacts of the Reformation on Danish society.
Very conveniently for this project, two Englishmen wrote extensively on Denmark and Danish
culture as compared to other European cultures during the 1600s. Their outside understandings
of the culture complement the Danish understanding of Danish society.
For the contemporary section of the study, I used academic analyses of the sociological
phenomena in Denmark. Many of these revolve around the lack of religious beliefs of any kind
(not specifically Catholicism) in the Scandinavian countries. To supplement these general
studies, I conducted eight semi-structured interviews in Denmark, seven with Catholics and one
with a non-Catholic. Two of the Catholics were religious: one was a nun and one was a
seminarian. Five of the Catholics were lay people. Three were women and five were men; the
ages ranged from 21 to approximately mid-50’s. All of these individuals lived in or near large
cities on the mainland of Denmark. In addition to the Catholics, I also interviewed Stig Grenov,
one of the leaders of the Christian Democrats, the only major Danish political party to be based
on a moral or religious platform.
Interview Setup
I decided to use interviews as a form of communication with these eight people because
interviews, as opposed to surveys or other quantitative methods of research, provide deeper
5
answers and understandings of how individuals experience social phenomena, more flexibility,
and more nuance as to vocal cues and facial expressions.2
I recruited individuals through their associations with various parishes. Because of this,
my sample focuses on Catholics who are actively involved in their parishes, especially through
Rite of Christian Initiation Programs. I sent out recruitment emails to several of these
individuals. Those who responded, agreed to an interview, signed a consent form, and actually
met me at the appointed interview time were the participants in the study. I realize that regardless
of how streamlined my procedure was, this commitment of time and energy reduces my sample
size to only those individuals who are passionate enough about the topic to invest such time and
energy. However, as Adler and Alder point out, a small number of subjects is a valuable strategy
for studying hidden or minority populations, both because the relationship the researcher
develops with the subject provides depth to the end results and because it can be difficult to find
more than a small number of subjects due to the minority status of those subjects.3 Also, as
Simon and Brown found, members of a minority are more similar to each other than members of
the non-minority.4 Answers from subjects that are members of a minority may thus be
generalized to some extent to represent the majority. In view of these arguments, my results
should be considered to be representative of active Catholics in Denmark.
2
Babbie 92
Adler and Adler 8
4
Simon and Brown 710-711
3
6
IV. Historical Development
Pre-Wars of Religion (pre-1500s)
Christianity first came to Denmark during the mid-800s under the reigns of King Erik and
his son, King Erik the Young.5 Both granted Ansgarius, a Christian monk and archbishop,
permission to build Christian churches in Hedeby
and Ribe.6 At this time, Catholicism was the only
major strain of Christianity in existence. It is
therefore under the two King Eriks that
Catholicism entered the Danish realm, which
included most of Scandinavia (see green, brown,
Image 1: Northwest Europe, 900 AD
and tan shading in Image 1).
In the mid-900s, King Gormo II, though against the
spread of Christianity, obeyed orders from German Emperor
Henry the Fowler to grant freedom of religion to all Christians
in the Danish realm.7
Gormo II’s son, Harald Bluetooth, commissioned a
memorial called the Jelling Stone (see Image 2). The writing
on the stone declares Harald to be the King who made the
Image 2: The Jelling Stone
Danes and Norwegians, at that point under the rule of
5
Pufendorf 359.
Rosedahl on Erik and Ansgar. Hedeby and Ribe were two of the most important cities in Denmark at the time. For
clarity’s sake, it is worth mentioning that Hedeby has since burned down, and the land where it sat has been taken by
Germany. Ribe, which served at one point as the capital of Denmark, remains a thriving Danish town to this day.
Author’s translation note: Ansgarius is called in Danish Ansgar.
7
Pufendorf 359. Author’s translation note: Gormo is called in Danish Gorm.
6
7
Denmark, Christians.8
The cultural influence of Christianity grew quickly. As the population under Danish
control (which stretched so far as Britain) became more Christian,
some Danish coinage began to feature the Agnus Dei, a Catholic
representation of God as a lamb (see Images 2 and 3).9 Other coins
featured the enthroned Christ.10 This visible impact of Christianity on
Danish culture provides a glimpse of the formation of the Danish sense
of identity. Ildar Garipzanov, an archaeologist at the University of
Image 3: front of
Danish coin circa 1000
Oslo, wrote, “by the mid-eleventh century, Christian coins in
Scandinavia began to express not only a general Christian identity but
also specific ones connected—as in the case of Denmark—to their
bishoprics. Consequently, those coins propagated specific Christian
institutional identities by means of visual symbols a few generations
Image 4: back of
Danish coin circa 1000
before the first hagiographical and historical texts were written in those sees to fulfill the same
task in a narrative mode.”11 The identities of the Danish realms were tied loosely to the different
groupings of parishes who each operated under a bishop. In other words, religious Danish
identity was generally Catholic though more specifically tied to a local church organization than
to the religion as a whole.
These bishoprics united under Pope Eugene III’s 1146 call for the Second Crusade, in
which Denmark became very involved both internationally and domestically. This call took
place during a time of political upheaval in Denmark, with various parties contending for the
8
Rosedahl on the Jelling Stone. The man depicted on the stone is Jesus Christ. The Jelling Stone remains a
celebrating monument in Jelling, Denmark.
9
Garipzanov 37
10
Ibid. 42
11
Ibid. 49
8
throne. Kurt Villads Jensen, a Danish historian at the University of Southern Denmark, argued
that “the appeal to crusade had a recognizable and profound effect internally in Denmark,
because it was used to strengthen one of the competing lines of the royal dynasty, the
Valdemarians, who gained royal power by building up what could be called a crusading state.”12
Though the motivation behind participation in the Second Crusade may have been political, once
again religion helped define the Danish identity (and more specifically the identity of the Danish
rulers). Danish coinage in the second half of the twelfth century features the Crusaders’ banner.13
The Turning Point (1500s)
The Danish realm’s level of acceptance or tolerance for non-Lutherans, especially
Catholics, decreased as the Lutheran religion began to take hold.
The Danish realm had included Denmark, Norway, and Sweden since 1397.14 Though
unofficially Danish dominance in the region had prospered since the Viking Age, Denmark
maintained official control of the entire realm from the 1397 Kalmar Union until the 1500s
when, in 1513, Steno Sturius led an uprising in Sweden against Christian II of Denmark.15 It is
this revolution that the Danish government today points to as the catalyst for the Lutheranization
of Catholic Denmark.16 The Pope’s support of Christian II led to the excommunication of Steno
and his followers and by extension the increase in dislike of Catholicism in Scandinavia.17
12
Jensen in Phillips and Hoch 164
Ibid. 170
14
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
15
Wylie loc 357, 23%
16
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
17
Wylie loc 357, 23%
13
9
After Christian defeated Steno, Christian ordered the
death of seventy Swedish leaders, including a man named
Erie Vasa.18 Erie’s son, Gustavus Vasa, became the father
of the Swedish Reformation and eventually, when
another rebellion succeeded, the King of Sweden.19 This
resulted in a remarkable loss of land for the Danish realm
Image 5: Northwest Europe, 1400 AD
(see Images 5 and 6; Sweden is the section in brown).
In 1515, Pope Leo X sent a representative to
Denmark to “open a sale of indulgences, and raise money
for the great work the Pope had then on hand, namely, the
building of St. Peter’s.”20 This action, along with
Christian II’s support, strengthened the ties between the
Image 6: Northwest Europe, 1500 AD
Catholic Church and the Danish State as well as added to the Scandinavian hostility toward
Catholics.
However, Christian II soon proved that his support was not for purely religious or moral
reasons. In 1522, the king, seeking further strength over the church-state relationship, declared a
new ecclesiastical code for Denmark, which in particular forbade any priests from appealing to
Rome to settle disputes; all controversies would be handled through the Danish court system.21
The one powerful leader who had supported Catholicism to any significant extent succumbed to
the temptation of power over the Church he supported. In fact, curiously enough, after his
deposition and an exile forced by his uncle, the former king arranged to have the New Testament
18
Wylie loc 362, 369, 24%
Ibid. loc 369, 376, 24% Author’s translation note: Gustavas Vasa is called in Swedish Gustav Vasa.
20
Ibid. loc 329, 21%
21
Ibid. loc 906, 58%
19
10
translated into a Danish version with a preface that implored the Danish people not to submit to
Rome’s demands that they not read the New Testament.22
Under the reign of Christian II’s uncle, Frederick I, Protestantism grew at a rapid pace.23
In 1525, George Jani, one of the first promoters of Protestantism, formed the first Protestant
institution, a school, in the city of Viborg.24 In 1526, the King issued a decree that any religious
leaders who preached the Lutheran religion ought to be protected.25 Paul Elia, the first renowned
Danish preacher of Lutheranism, and Johannis Taussan, referred to as “the Luther of Denmark,”
both took advantage of this opportunity to rally the masses.26 It soon became common
knowledge that the King was Lutheran, and that he even ate meat on Fridays (a significant
transgression within and deviation from the Catholic faith).27
In 1527, Frederick I called a meeting of all the Christian bishops in Denmark.28 The
result of the meeting was a new set of standards for clergy and the church, including permission
for priests to marry; power of the king to ratify the election of bishops; and an end to any
financial aid sent to Rome.29 Just two years later, the Catholic mass was officially abolished, and
the majority of Danes considered themselves Lutherans.30
Frederick’s son, Christian III, took the throne in 1534 and almost immediately faced
opposition.31 Christopher, Earl of Oldenburgh, and his supporters, the Lubeckers, revolted
against King Christian III.32 This revolt was an attempt to take over Denmark; to free the exiled
22
Wylie loc 913, 59%
Ibid. loc 893, 58%
24
Ibid. loc 927, 60%
25
Ibid. loc 978, 63%
26
Ibid. loc 1034, 1042, 67%. Author’s translation note: Johannis Taussan is called in Danish Hans Tausen.
27
Ibid. loc 1034, 67%
28
Ibid. loc 1047, 68%
29
Ibid. loc 1061, 68%
30
Ibid. loc 1102, 71%
31
Ibid. loc 1292, 83%
32
Oldenburg is a city in northwest Germany.
23
11
former King Christian II; and to protect Catholic interests against the growing Lutheran
influence.33 After two years of fighting, Christian III defeated Christopher. As none of the
remaining Catholic bishops in the realm had supported Christian III, he had them all deposed and
established Lutheranism as the de facto main religion in Denmark and Norway.34 Christian III’s
“Recess of Copenhagen” repossessed all Churches’ and bishops’ wealth to the state and decried
the practice of any rites of Catholicism, while specifying that no Catholic would be forced to
renounce his or her faith.35
Due to the political circumstances under which this deposition occurred, many dispute
the true religiosity of the rise of Lutheranism in the Danish territories. Even Robert Molesworth,
a British envoy to Denmark who was pro-Lutheran and anti-Catholic, followed his claim that the
great “Unity in belief” in Denmark was done on a “pure religious account” with the conclusion
that the Prince would easily benefit from having all of his subjects as participants in one religion
in which the priests fall under the leadership of that Prince.36
Leaders in Denmark continued to change the political climate for Catholics and nonChristians after the deposition of the Catholic bishops.
In 1555, Christian III and other leaders signed the Peace of Augsburg, which promoted
the principle of cujus regio, cujus religio - “whose region, his religion” - the premise that the
ruler of an area could declare that area to uphold that religion.37 This was a reaction to the
religious wars between Protestants and Catholics as rulers of both types of countries fought to
convert residents of other countries. Christian III declared that the Danish realm was de jure
33
Gustafsson 95-96. It appears that the Lubeckers were more infavor of returning the society to the way it had been
than in actually promoting Catholicism, especially given that Christopher, their leader, had converted to
Lutheranism.
34
Pufendorf 368
35
Wylie loc 1305, 84%
36
Molesworth 151-152
37
Lodberg Freedom 45. Augsburg is now a part of Germany.
12
Lutheran. He then declared that all Catholics who would not convert were to emigrate from
countries under Danish control.38
In 1557, Peder Palladius, the superintendent (Lutheran replacement of “bishop”) of
Zealand, wrote a “catalogue of heresy,’ which closed Danish borders to all non-Lutherans.39
In 1683, King Christian V declared that Catholics could not live in or immigrate to
Denmark; they could not inherit any property; and they could not hold any religious services.40
This law remained in effect until 1849.41
Harald Gustafsson, Swedish historian at Lund University, argues that though Denmark,
Norway, and Sweden (at this point all under Danish rule) had different languages and cultures,
they all held the same official religion, and their inhabitants to some extent considered
themselves Danes.42 Even those who considered their political interests as specific to the region
in which they lived (for example, the mainland or the island of Zealand) thought of their identity
as part of the country of Denmark rather than of each region. 43 This connection in identity
among the many parts of Denmark created a strong sense of religious homogeneity.
In 1694, Molesworth wrote, “at this day there is no other Religion here professed than the
Lutheran, if we will except the little Reformed French Church of Copenhagen, set up by the
Queen, and one Popish Chapel at Glucstadt, permitted about ten years ago to a few Popish
Families in those parts; which is the first that has been since the Reformation.”44 Just a hundred
eighty years after the appearance of the first Protestant institution in Denmark, these few Popish
families were the entirety of Catholicism in Denmark. The population was almost uniform in its
38
Lodberg Freedom 45
Wylie loc 1334, 86%; Lodberg Freedom 45
40
Lodberg Freedom 45
41
Ibid. 45
42
Gustafsson 107
43
Ibid. 105
44
Molesworth 151
39
13
religious and cultural sensibilities, and the switch from the Pope to Luther was complete. “To
conclude; I never knew any Country where the Minds of the People were more of one calibre
and pitch than here...a certain equality of Understanding reigns among them: every one keeps the
ordinary beaten road of sense…”45
Herein lies the confirmation of hypothesis 1 (“Because of nationalism and the emphasis
on tradition in Danish society, religions are ostracized if they tend to conflict with aspects of the
Danish identity”). Although Catholicism had a strong basis in Danish culture, once it was
perceived as unhelpful for political leaders or contrary to the will of the Danish people, it was
quickly discriminated against by the Danish political system. Lutheranism swept the country,
leaders and public alike, indicating that while the Catholic nature of the country had been a
social norm, the Danish identity was not reliant on Catholicism. If anything, as I have discussed,
the religious identity of the Danes was tied more to the local community than to the Danish
nation.
Why then did Lutheranism so quickly develop into an accepted part of the Danish
identity? Either this was a time of social upheaval and Lutheranism simply appeared at the right
place and right time to sweep through Denmark or Lutheranism offered something specific that
the Danes wanted. There may also be some combination of the factors here. Given the
overwhelmingly non-religious nature of Denmark just a few hundred years later, it seems that the
first factors was more influential than the second.
Catholicism, while at one time an accepted part of Danish culture, never developed into
part of the national Danish identity as Lutheranism did. Catholicism was quickly ostracized once
Lutheranism took its place not only as the norm but as the expectation. Therefore, we see that in
the case of Catholicism, hypothesis 1 is correct.
45
Molesworth 151
14
Religious Freedom and National Identity (1600s-1953)
The Lutherans were not the only religious group expanding after the Reformation. The
Baptists also spread into parts of Scandinavia. The Catholics and Baptists differed in more than
simply their theology. Catholic teaching on religious freedom was nearly nonexistent at this
time, especially given that many of the European states were Catholic. Because the mass had
been abolished and Catholics were not legally allowed to live in Denmark, any Catholics who
remained there had a very high risk of persecution if they had pushed for any religious freedoms.
Baptists however had not been banished from participating in their religious services and were
still allowed to live in Denmark. Therefore, unlike the Catholics, the Baptists decided to work
toward legal recognition and protection.46 As their movement progressed, so did the movement
for religious freedom as a whole. In 1674, the King granted permission to any non-Lutheran
Christians to move to Fredericia, a town on the east side of the Danish peninsula.47 This
allowance soon grew to include Jews.48 This opening up of the Danish monarch to the possibility
of religious freedom set the stage for what was to occur later.
Nonetheless, the Lutheran identity remained the ideal for the Danish citizen. Even the
government reflected this, and other states regarded Denmark as a Christian state as opposed to a
neutral state.49
In this time period, patriotism within Denmark began to grow.50 Patriotism is defined by
Walker Connor, one of the leading scholars on nationalism, as loyalty to the state and its
institutions.51 During the 18th century, a sense of Danish national identity was prevalent among
46
Lodberg Freedom 46
Ibid. 45-46
48
Ibid. 45-46
49
Ibid. 50
50
Rerup 325. At this time, the Danish empire spanned several countries. The increase in nationalism happened
mostly in the country of Denmark proper.
51
Connor 100
47
15
upper class men and those who worked for the government.52 During the 1800s, due to agrarian
reforms and a positive public perception of the king, a deep loyalty to the monarchy emerged in
the whole of Danish society.53 This increase in patriotism was thrust onward by threats to the
power of the Danish realm. For example, in 1807, a war between Britain and Denmark resulted
in the bombing of Copenhagen.54 In 1814, Norway left Denmark.55 Also during this time,
Germany attempted to slowly take control of some number of German-speaking districts of
Denmark. The Danes reacted strongly, citing their national identity as Danes.56 This patriotism
became nationalism during the 1830s and 1840s, when pride in Denmark and anti-German
sentiment spread from urban areas to include rural areas
and effectively reach all of Denmark.57 In 1864,
Denmark lost several duchies to Germany.58 One of
these voted to return to Denmark in 1920.59 Germany
then occupied Denmark between 1940 and 1945.60 This
stark loss of land (see Images 7 and 8) contributed to
Image 3: Northwest Europe, 1800 AD
the Danish loyalty to state and over time to Danish
loyalty to the nation.
As these international threats prompted
patriotism, domestic efforts promoted nationalism,
loyalty to the nation and its members’ common
52
Magnusson 382
53
Rerup 325
54
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
55
Ibid.
56
Rerup 325-326
57
Rerup 326; Berdichevsky 79
58
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
59
Ibid.
60
Ibid. Denmark had remained neutral through the first World War.
Image 8: Northwest Europe, 1900 AD
16
ancestry.61 Symbols of Denmark, such as songs, colors, etc., were further incorporated into the
culture especially through government-written textbooks for schools.62 Historic culture in
Denmark, including old literature and hymns, became a source of national pride, as did the
Danish university.63 In the 1740s and 1750s, a Royal Science Academy, a Royal Society for
Danish History and Language, and a Royal Academy of Art were all founded to preserve Danish
intellectual life and to push it forward.64
Because of these international and domestic factors, Danish citizens developed strong
loyalties not only to their state but also to their ancestory and historical identity, which included
Evangelical Lutheranism.
The Evolution of Constitutions (1849-1953)
In June 1849, the Danish parliament was created in a new constitution. In addition to
replacing the absolute monarchy, the constitution set guidelines regarding religion. This
document combined the theories of several Danish thinkers.
Jacob Peter Mynster, a Danish theologian and the Lutheran bishop of Zealand, argued
that the Evangelical Lutheran State-Church ought to continue as an entity mostly separate from
the Danish parliament and monarch.65 Instead, the authors of the Danish constitution decided to
support an option in which the Evangelical Lutheran Folk-Church was funded by the State but
61
Connor 100
Rerup 325
63
Ibid. 325
64
Ibid. 325
65
Lodberg Freedom 47-48. Zealand is the island of Denmark on which most of Copenhagen is located.
62
17
ran independently of the parliament and monarch.66 This may have been due to the influence of
one of Mynster’s contemporaries.
Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig, known for his impact on Danish education, had a
significant impact on Danish nationalism and the Danish Church as well.67 Culturally, he
connected the people in Denmark in a new way; his play about the 1807 British siege of
Denmark served as a unifying call to arms, his poems promoted the adoption of Danish as the
national language, and many of his 1500 hymns were so popular that they still resound in Danish
Evangelical Lutheran churches today.68 Grundtvig wanted to see the Danish Lutheran Church
become a part of the State, run by the parliament and overseen by the monarch.69 While this
attempt ultimately failed, Grundtvig’s connection of religion and nationalism pulled the 1849
constitution toward a tighter relationship of Church and State.70
This closely tied relationship between the separate entities of Church and State was the
idea of Friederich Schleiermacher, commonly referred to as the Father of Modern Liberal
Theology.71 Schleiermacher was much more accepting of pluralism than were many of his
counterparts, emphasizing the feelings behind an individual’s desire for religion rather than any
rational decision as to which religion was correct.72 Hence, he saw all religion as a means to
achieve the common good, and he argued that society ought to support all religions as such.73
The end result of these combinations of political and theological philosophies was that
the Danish government allowed for more religious freedom while still establishing a statefinanced church. The 1849 Constitution made two declarations regarding the relationship
66
Lodberg Freedom 47-48
Rerup 327
68
Rerup 326, 329
69
Lodberg Freedom 47-48
70
Rerup 329
71
Lodberg Freedom 47-48
72
Boston Collaborative Encyclopedia of Modern Western Theology par 4
73
Ibid. par 5
67
18
between Church and State. First, the constitution declared that the Evangelical Lutheran Church
was the official Danish Folk-Church and as such was to be supported, presumably financially, by
the state.74 Second, the constitution also mandated that the King or Queen be part of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church.75 In the constitution, the only specific provision regarding
religious freedom restricts the religious freedom of the monarch.
More generally, the 1849 Constitution did open the door for some religious freedoms for
minority religious groups, as Schleiermacher had desired. Yet, this allowance for freedom of
religion did not have as strong an effect as Schleiermacher had hoped. For example, the Baptist
Union, which had been fighting for legal recognition and protection since the Reformation, only
received official recognition in 1952.76 In fact, the only notable advantage the Baptists received
from the 1849 Constitution was that the Evangelical Lutheran Church lost the power it had used
for twenty years to forcibly baptize children of Baptists into the Lutheran faith.77
In 1953, Denmark established a new constitution. This constitution was more explicit
regarding religious freedom as opposed to simply the funding for the state Church.
First, it declared, “The citizens shall be entitled to form congregations for the worship of
God in a manner consistent with their convictions, provided that nothing at variance with good
morals or public order shall be taught or done.”78 The document does not further specify what
institution or individual determines whether good morals or public order are being violated. This
seems to be up to interpretation of the ruling alliance in Parliament.
74
Danish Constitution 1849 Article 3
Ibid. Article 6
76
Lodberg Freedom 47-48
77
Ibid. 47-48
78
Danish Constitution 1953 Articles 67-70
75
19
Second, it read, “No one shall be liable to make personal contributions to any
denomination other than the one to which he adheres.”79 To this end, the current method by
which Danish taxpayers support the Evangelical Lutheran Church must allow individuals over
the age of 18 to opt out of sending their tax krones to the state-supported Church.
Third, the constitution clarified that “Rules for religious bodies dissenting from the
Established Church shall be laid down by Statute.”80 This regards the recognition of official
religious groups within Denmark, such as the Baptists. Danish law has since created the Ministry
of Children, Gender Equality, Integration, and Social Affairs, which decides which religious
groups will be recognized as having official status and which will not.81
Fourth, it declared, “No person shall for reasons of his creed or descent be deprived of
access to complete enjoyment of his civic and political rights, nor shall he for such reasons evade
compliance with any common civic duty.”82 Once again, the document did not further specify
what the common civic duty entails. Hypothetically, this common civic duty could entail keeping
the face visible for security purposes, thus potentially banning the niquab; or perhaps this
common civic duty could require one’s allegiance to be first and foremost to the government of
Denmark, and any allegiance to a foreign pope could be seen as a violation of that duty. Because
of the vagueness of the constitution, it is difficult to tell the effect the 1953 Constitution directly
had on the religious freedom debate.
79
Danish Constitution 1953 Articles 67-70
Ibid. Articles 67-70
81
The Ministry of Children, Gender Equality, Integration and Social Affairs. According to the Danish Parliament’s
website, the Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs, the top government official specifically assigned to the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Denmark, falls under this Ministry as well.
82
Danish Constitution 1953 Articles 67-70
80
20
Visible Unity (1953 - today)
From 1988 until 1992, several national Churches in Europe gathered together to create a
united and ecumenical front of European Christianity.83 The goal and result of these
conversations was to draw up a document, the Porvoo Statement, declaring interchangeable
membership, ministry, and church structure.84 Denmark initially did not agree to sign the
statement.85
The most likely explanation for this is that the theological and structural differences
between the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark and the other Churches involved in the
Porvoo conversations gave Denmark little reason to sign the document. The most notable of
these differences was the Danish understanding versus the Porvoo understanding of the role of
bishops. The Church of Denmark had long operated with pastors working for congregations and
bishops operating as overall pastors for many congregations together; the Porvoo document saw
the ministries of pastors and bishops to be very different from each other and from the Danish
system.86 The Church of Denmark had not followed any type of apostolic succession in choosing
its bishops; the Porvoo Statement maintained a steady line of succession.87 For these reasons, for
the Church of Denmark to sign the Porvoo Statement would have been, to many Danish pastors
and bishops, to “give up our Danish Evangelical-Lutheran identity and to acknowledge that our
understanding of the ministry since the Reformation has been wrong.”88
Paragraph 53 of the Porvoo Statement reads, “The mutual acknowledgment of our
churches and ministries is theologically prior to the use of the sign of the laying-on of hands in
83
Porvoo Statement 1
Ibid. 1. The Porvoo Statement is named for the Finnish and Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral in Finland in
which the document was written.
85
Lodberg Nordic 150-151
86
Ibid. 152
87
Ibid. 152
88
Ibid. 152
84
21
the historic succession. Resumption of the use of the sign does not imply an adverse judgment on
the ministries of those churches which did not previously make use of the sign. It is rather a
means of making more visible the unity and continuity of the church at all times and in all
places.”89
This justification for the Porvoo interpretation of apostolic succession did not sit well
with the Danes. The expression “visible unity” in particular set some Danish Evangelical
Lutherans ardently against the document. One parish council wrote an objection to the statement,
explaining in almost an offended manner, “…the people is the church, and with that the church is
visible; therefore, we do not need any Porvoo statement.”90 As Peter Lodberg noted, in this
council’s mentality, “…the people of God, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark and the
national Danish people merge effortlessly into a single identity.”91
While most Danes opposed the Porvoo Statement because of its theological differences
with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark or because its call to unity was perceived as
unnecessary, some Danes saw the document as beneficial in that it started a conversation in
Denmark about the identity of the Church of Denmark and its relationship with other national
Christian Churches.92
Most of the national Christian Churches invited to sign the Porvoo Statement did so in
1994 and 1995; however, the Church of Denmark did not sign the statement until 2010, fifteen
years after the most recent country had done so.93
This debate over the Porvoo Statement highlights the continued unity of the Danish
people under the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark. The 2012 Porvoo Information
89
Lodberg Nordic 152
Ibid. 154
91
Ibid. 154
92
Ibid. 153
93
Porvoo Statement 1
90
22
Booklet refers to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark as the “church of the people,”
even 457 years after King Christian II declared it to be so.94
It is worth noting here that no Catholic Churches signed the Porvoo Statement. This may
be because so few national Churches in Europe are Catholic.95 This may also be because the
Catholic understanding of the sacrament of the Eucharist as the presence of Jesus’s literal body
and blood conflicts with the Porvoo Statement’s understanding of the eucharist as simply a
symbolic representation of the Last Supper.96
94
Porvoo Statement 16
Ibid. 1
96
Ibid. 16
95
23
V. Data and Analysis
Subsection 1: Major Themes
In this subsection, I will address hypothesis 2: because of nationalism, immigration,
tradition, and privacy, Danish society considers Catholicism as an “other” identity contrary to the
true Danish identity.
Theme 1: Loss of land and creation of national identity
As I have discussed, the loss of land that Denmark experienced contributed significantly
to the formation of a strong Danish national identity. This trend of increased patriotism after an
attack on a country’s power is not specific to Denmark. Think for example of the increase in
American patriotism after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Because Denmark is a
nationalistic society and not simply a patriotic society, this sense of identity is based strongly in a
shared history and a sense of commonality that pervades the culture. In fact, in the past hundred
years, Denmark has been ranked one of the most homogenous societies in Europe.97 Part of this
homogeneity is the self-identification of most Danes as Lutheran. Because of the forces against
the Danes, they solidified and became more homogenous as a group.
Interestingly, this same concept applies to the Catholic population within Denmark. After
the discrimination of Catholics began, Catholics, like Danes, lost a significant amount of land.
During the Protestant Reformation, the Evangelical Lutheran Church took over many of the old
Catholic Churches. As one of my interviewees who had recently moved to a major city said of
Denmark, “there isn’t a church wherever you go. There wasn’t a Catholic Church within 30
97
Berdichevsky 80
24
miles of my former apartment. But now that I live in a bigger town, there is a community.” This
loss of space, similar to the loss of land Denmark has experienced over the past several hundred
years, produced a similar result of unification.
In addition to losing land during the 1500s, Danish Catholics also became a minority. The
Danish Catholic community, which used to be substantial, has now been reduced to just a small
percentage of the population. As a recent convert to the Catholic Church explained, “But there
aren’t a lot of Catholics in Denmark in general, so generally if I want to talk about God with
someone, there’s a big chance that person is not a Catholic. In fact, before I started at RCIA, I
only knew one Catholic in Denmark. Most people probably hardly realize that the Catholic
Church exists in Denmark, since there are so few of us.” Because of this minority status and
homogenization effect, Catholicism is seen as an identity that conflicts with the boundaries of the
Danish identity.
Theme 2: Catholicism as the Faith of Immigrants
While Catholicism was the first true empire-wide religion in Denmark, it is now seen as
the religion of the outsider, the faith of immigrants. Since Catholic immigrants were legally
allowed to enter the country again in 1849, Catholicism suffered the effects of the anti-immigrant
sentiment that has become commonly associated with European states. In fact, in an 1875
immigration law passed by the Danish parliament, Catholics and any religious Danes who did
not belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark were required to apply for a permit.98
The understanding of the parliament was that Danes who were not Lutherans were most likely
immigrants. Parts of the Danish culture seems almost dismissive to non-Lutherans, as if
98
Tawat 98
25
wondering why they do not just switch to the Danish religion; as one individual commented,
“The minority are those who desire to belong to it.”99
While the laws regarding permits have changed, the culture thought behind them remains
mostly the same. Common sentiment from the past fifty years has included the argument that
“Danishness” is necessary for a thriving Denmark and that therefore immigrants should keep
their religions to themselves.100 In 2014, immigrants and their descendants accounted for 11.5%
of the Danish population.101 There is no data available as to what percentage of these immigrants
are Catholic, though the subjects of my interviews had experienced the Catholic Church as
heavily populated by immigrants. One explained regarding the Catholic Church, “In terms of its
role vís-á-vís society it has traditionally, due to its immigrant nature, been seen as something
foreign and perhaps even exotic in some circles. The Lutheran Church here in Denmark is by its
very nature rooted in the cultural heritage of Denmark, and can thus be considered an institution
which many people can easily relate to, because it has been a fundamental part of Danish society
for centuries, but the Catholic Church cannot easily attain this kind of position, precisely because
it is not one hundred percent Danish at all, and doesn’t have the same cultural heritage as the
Lutheran Church does.” This subject did not mention that the Danish realm had acclaimed
Catholicism for hundreds of years before the Reformation, corroborating the previous argument
that Catholicism had never been a part of the Danish identity the way that Lutheranism was and
is.
Another subject added, “The Church remains mostly an immigrant Church, which is
something that’ll never disappear, primarily because it’s highly unlikely that most Danes would
want to convert to the Catholic Church, save of course if Christ were to appear tomorrow to
99
Berdichevsky 80
Holm 338, 357.
101
Danish Statistical Yearbook 2014, “Population and Elections”
100
26
judge the world, which might just make more people want to get down on their knees and start
praying. For this reason it is not only the parishes as such which are very international in their
nature, but the priests also come from many different countries, with only about one out of six
priests being a native Dane. This means that missionary priests, who come to Denmark, take a lot
of time learning the language, the culture, and above all the Danish mentality and sarcastic sense
of humor, which not everyone easily understands. Most Danes have a kind of a tribe-mentality,
in the sense that they can be very self-obsessed, and therefore rarely like things or people which
don’t belong to this tribe. To make a long story short, most Danes continue to find the Catholic
Church to be a somewhat foreign element, and are not that keen to embrace it.” Not only are the
parishioners of a Catholic Church often immigrants; the leaders are as well. This can cause many
conflicts of identities, such as those mentioned by the subject – language, culture, mentality, and
sense of humor. Because of the association of Catholicism with immigrants and the view of
immigrants as “other,” Danish society considers Catholicism to be an “other” identity which
conflicts with the true Danish identity.
Theme 3: Religion as tradition of identity, not of faith
Denmark is commonly referred to by sociologists as the least religious country in the
world. One sociologist, Phil Zuckerman, author of Society Without God, quoted an individual as
saying regarding religion, “It’s what we do and who we are, not what we think or what we
believe.”102 This sentiment seems fairly widespread. In 2014, 78.4% of Danes identified as
members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark.103 Three out of four of children born
102
103
Zuckerman
Danish Statistical Yearbook 2014, “Culture and National Church”
27
in Denmark in 2013 were baptized into the Church of Denmark.104 However, only 28% of Danes
believe that there is a God.105 These statistics point to the idea that Danes identify themselves as
members of the Church of Denmark, even participating in the sacraments such as baptism,
without necessarily believing in the principles of the Church. It seems that identification or
participation in religion has become an act of tradition rather than an act of faith.
Catholicism does not operate this way in Denmark. Catholics are at higher risk for
discrimination or even persecution for identifying themselves by their religious beliefs, so it is
less likely that an individual would identify himself or herself as Catholic without espousing
some or all of the beliefs of the Catholic Church. This further sets apart the self-identified
Catholics from the self-identified Lutherans, making the Catholics appear to be religious
extremists or fanatics compared to their majoritarian counterparts. By magnifying this gap
between the two identities, the Danish identity distances itself from the Catholic identity once
again.
Theme 4: Faith as private
The privacy that is so highly valued in Danish culture is also seen as violated by parts of
the Catholic practice of faith. One subject, a seminarian, told me, “In the South it is almost
considered obligatory to show that you’re somehow religious, and to display that you like to
pray, whereas in Northern Europe we tend to hide our faith much more…I’m not as scared about
showing that I’m about to become a priest, and so often wear a priestly collar in public, which
thus leads other people to almost stare at me, because they’ve probably only seen this kind of
104
105
Danish Statistical Yearbook 2014, “Culture and National Church”
Eurobarameter, Section 5.3
28
stuff in movies.”106 Aspects of the Catholic faith, such as the norm that priests wear their collars
in public, are seen as in conflict with the aforementioned belief that those who do not fit into the
boundaries of the Danish identity should keep their differences quietly to themselves.
This same conflict is seen in the different services of Lutheranism and Catholicism.
Another subject pointed this out, saying, “In the Danish Lutheran Church, it is very common to
attend a service without even having to exchange a greeting with a fellow believer in the church
because you’re not there to show a bond with other believers, but just to nurture your own
relationship with God. This might seem as a caricature, but this attitude means that we don’t
show our religious feelings and emotions as much, and are therefore less open in public about
our faith, which also has something to do with the fact that we don’t like to intrude on other
people’s lives.” At one point in the Catholic mass, worshipers are asked to turn to one another,
even those whom one may not know, and extend forgiveness and peace to the other person. The
message behind this interaction is that Catholics worship as a community of individuals with
relationships to God and to each other. This is very different from the theology of the Lutheran
Church, which emphasizes solely the individual’s relationship with God.
One subject indicated that this difference in services is not limited to the parts of the
services but also extends to the way in which the services are prayed. He said, “Danes tend to
just sit in the pews and quietly say their prayers and responses as the Mass progresses, whereas
in the South people are much more vocal and charismatic, which also manifests itself in their
body language.” Another subject (who had visited and attended mass in the United States before)
explained more generally, “The Danes do not like when you publicly mention God or Jesus.
106
The use of the term South generally refers to Southern Europe. Many of these countries are primarily Catholic or
have large Catholic minorities.
29
Therefore I think Catholics keep more to themselves in Denmark than in the United States, for
instance.”
The perceived invasion of privacy Catholicism promotes through its symbols and
practices conflicts with the high value the Danish society places on privacy. The impact of this
conflict is that Danish society perceives Catholicism as an identity which conflicts with the
Danish identity.
Subsection 2: Political Impacts on Catholics
These four differences between Catholic culture and Danish culture translate into
political limitations. Therefore, we now turn to hypothesis 3: because Catholics are considered
“others,” they have a lower level of political power than mainstream Evangelical Lutherans do.
Impact 1: Lack of opportunity in party politics
Catholics have a lower capacity to express their views and opinions in the Danish
political sphere than do Evangelical Lutherans.
Without a political party, it is very difficult for a group to have representation in the
Danish government. This is especially true given the high number of political parties in
Denmark. There are currently eight parties that have representation in parliament and many more
seeking to attain that status.107 There is only one religiously based major political party in
Denmark, the Christian Democrats. Issues dealing with morality are rarely addressed in Danish
107
Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy, “Danish Political Parties”
30
politics.108 Part of this may be due to the strong power of the party leadership over members of
parliament and the lack of other institutions through which to address morality within a political
sphere.109 The Christian Democrats have sought to change this since their formation in 1970s as
a reaction to the recent lenient legislation on pornography and abortion.110 The party has had
minimal success at best as far as electing members to parliament.111 The moral issues the party
addresses include abortion, same-sex marriage, artificial reproductive technologies, embryonic
stem-cell research, and euthanasia.112
The Christian Democrats do not deliberately appeal to Catholics as a demographic,
though many of the points on the party’s platform do align with Catholic teaching. I interviewed
Stig Grenov, a chairperson for the Christian Democrats about his party’s efforts to combine
politics and religion. He explained that as opposed to the major parties, “We are more a protest
party, we are a tiny space to move in.” Grenov explained that no other parties try to appeal to
religious voters at large, while the Christian Democrats do. “There is a lot of values that are the
same in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. And Christianity, I mean Catholics and Protestants.
Because both parts are Christians, Catholics and Protestants. I don’t know, we do not depart it in
that way, and maybe it is because religion is under such a pressure that we do stick together.”
Specifically regarding Catholics, Grenov explained, “We have Catholics in our party, I
know that for sure, but we do not ask people about their religious status. So there are people from
Catholics, people who are of course Protestants, there are people who for whom religion means a
lot, there are people where religion doesn’t mean a lot to them but the Christian Democrats is the
best that they believe in.” Grenov emphasized that religious people in general struggle to find a
108
Albæk, Green-Pedersen, and Larsen 137
Ibid. 138
110
Ibid. 139
111
Ibid. 139
112
Ibid. 144, 147, 152, 156
109
31
home in Danish politics, and that both Catholics and Evangelical Lutherans who ascribe to the
principles of their religion have just one political party pursuing their votes – the Christian
Democrats.
In my other interviews, some subjects pointed out additional hurdles Catholics in
particular face. One subject explained his understanding of the struggles the Catholic Church
faces in the political arena. “Even though many within the Church would like it to engage much
more with society, addressing the problems facing our country and the world, it is almost
impossible for it to do so for several reasons. Firstly, we need people who are capable of
engaging with society through the media, have sufficient knowledge on subjects, and are able to
debate these issues, whilst arguing in favor of the Church’s position. The Church in this way
becomes unable to participate actively in society, and thus becomes even more invisible than it
already is. Secondly, the Church is still facing general prejudice in society, and especially
amongst the media, making it almost mission impossible to have any positive influence at all. A
significant part of the problem is that not only do we lack people with the aforementioned ability
to engage in debates, but there are also many within the Church who reject society and that
which it represents, in particular secularization and relativity, thus making them think that the
only way in which the Church can engage with society is by condemning all that it represents,
instead of trying to enter into a more positive dialogue with society, by trying to understand
things from the perspective of the average secularized Dane, and thereby enabling us through
this to propose things from the Church’s perspective.”
Politicians who may have moral or ethical leanings that align with those of Catholic
voters may exist, but if they do, they stay quiet about their religious beliefs. As the subject who
has been to America stated, “I think being a Catholic in Denmark is very different compared to
32
being a Catholic in America. Since we do not take up a large percentage of the population and
publicly expressed religion is not very accepted here, we seem to stick more to ourselves. It’s
also very rare to find a politician who will mention God, Jesus or the Bible as reason for any
policy. A lot of people despise religion, so any Christian politician might be afraid of losing his
seat if he say anything about it.”
Another subject echoed the concern regarding the society’s perception of the Church,
saying, “I think that it would be a political suicide if one were to argue in favor of Catholic ideas
and morals in a political context, simply because of the general hostility towards the Catholic
Church.”
This combination of lack of proper training and a negative societal perception of the
Catholic Church creates a situation where, as another subject said, the Church simply “does not
have a voice in the public debate.” Another argued that this would be true as long as Catholics
held their beliefs; “Often one does feel separated from most other people in society precisely of
the beliefs we hold as Catholics, as well as those value which we insist upon, such as respect for
everyone, especially the unborn. As long as we insist that not all values can in any way be
merely relative to the beliefs of the individual, we will inevitably be somewhat separated from
everyone else.”
I asked five subjects if they thought there should be a Catholic political party in
Denmark. All said no. The two who elaborated gave the following answers.
“No. I think it is important to keep politics and religion fairly separated. I believe in a
night watcher state, and such a state requires no religion, although the religion is still there in
society.”
33
“No. For the simple reason that it would not be able to survive for long, because subjects
such as abortion or traditional marriage, to just mention a few issues, would be almost
impossible to get any support for. Also, I think that most non-Catholics would generally have
very negative opinions about anything Catholic, meaning that it would be a very negative
opinion already from the beginning.”
While the Christian Democrats provide an outlet for religious individuals interested in
politics, Catholics seem not to be optimistic regarding any political impacts they may have
through the party.
Impact 2: Less likelihood to vote
Political scientists have worked for years to develop a somewhat reliable way to predict
how likely an individual is to vote. The calculus of voting is an equation that attempts to quantify
that number. Riker and Ordeshook build on Downs’ theory of the calculus of voting, deciding on
the equation R = PB - C + D, where the following conditions exist.113
•
R is the reasonable likelihood that an individual votes
•
P is the impact that an individual perceives his or her vote having upon the election
•
B is the benefit that an individual perceives he or she will procure if his or her candidate
wins
•
C is the cost of voting - in time, money for gas, effort, etc.
•
D is the duty or inherent value that an individual perceives in the act of voting
All four of these factors impact the likelihood that someone will vote.
113
Riker and Ordeshook 25
34
Being Catholic in Denmark hypothetically affects the P term and the B term. First, as
Catholics have no political parties that exactly align with Catholic doctrine, they are less likely to
perceive strong benefits (P term) related to Catholicity regarding a particular candidate winning.
However, as most self-identified Evangelical Lutherans do not necessarily believe the principles
set forth by the Evangelical Lutheran Church, it is difficult to imagine that their P term is
significantly affected by religious leanings. Second, as many of the issues where Danish law
differs from Catholic doctrine (for example, abortion or pornography) have not changed despite
the Christian Democrats’ efforts over the past decades, the perceived benefits (B term) for a
Catholic of his or her candidate winning an election are minimal regarding the Catholicity of the
candidate. On the other hand, self-identified Evangelical Lutherans as the overwhelming
majority of voters in the country have been involved in shaping these policies up until this point.
It is therefore unlikely that their B term is affected negatively by a candidate’s religiosity. For
these two reasons and according to the calculus of voting, Catholics are less likely to vote than
their Evangelical Lutheran counterparts.
My interviews affirmed this hypothetical situation. As one subject stated, “In recent years
I’ve become very apathetic when it comes to politics because most of the politicians have
reduced themselves to being populists. It doesn’t mean that I don’t want to use my right to vote,
but it’s not that I feel there’s one particular party which I support wholeheartedly. I tend to just
go for the one that I find to be the lesser of several evils, and depending on whatever current
issues I think are most important to worry about.” When I asked the subject what issues are
currently most important to worry about, the response was, “The most important issue for me is
freedom, i.e. freedom to practice and choose one’s way of life, although within reasonable limits.
In other words the limit of one’s personal freedom ends, where the freedom of another person
35
begins.” This emphasis on freedom was emphasized in another interview, where the subject
stated, “I believe that anyone has the right to do whatever they please as long as they do not take
away that right from anyone else.” Freedom as a focus may be due to the religious discrimination
and ostracization Catholics face; it may also be simply due to political leanings.
Regardless, these apolitical tendencies follow the calculus of voting theory. Catholics in
Denmark are less likely to vote than their Evangelical Lutheran counterparts.
Impact 3: Lack of opportunity to participate in charity work
The third political impact Catholics face is the replacement of religious charity with the
Danish welfare state. The Catholic Church is one of the most high profile international charities
in the world, but in Denmark, there are limitations on what it can and cannot do.
First, the perception of the Church is very negative. Some of this is due to the recent sex
scandals associated with the Catholic Church. As one subject explained, “The many abuse
scandals have had such a huge negative impact on the credibility of the Church, which means
that it’ll take several decades before we might be able to see a more positive view of the Catholic
Church in Denmark.” Another added, “Generally people very much think that the Catholic
Church is just about a bunch of pedophiles and no matter how much one tries to argue with
people, there is very much this prejudice among many secularized people.”
Some of this negative perception is also due to the Danish modern view of religion as
exclusionary, unintelligent, and old fashioned, especially regarding sexuality. One subject
explained, “Many, both outside and inside the Church, believe that we have to adapt the modern
and secular approaches to just about everything, but especially sexuality and faith, i.e. we ought
36
to start supporting abortion, contraception, women priests, married priests, etc.” Another focused
on the isolating result of these perceptions, saying, “In a world that is very focused on sex, and
where relationships often do not last long, I can feel like my choices about those things put me in
a slightly different group than most. The same is true for issues such as abortion, where I, unlike
the majority of the Danes, am pro-life.” Another simply stated, “Catholics are also seen as a very
excluding people and as mostly uneducated.”
One other factor that may be influential in the negative Danish view of Catholicism is the
lack of understanding about what Catholicism actually is. One of my subjects explained,
“Denmark is predominantly a Protestant country, which has been very anti-Catholic since the
Reformation in the 16th century. This has brought with it lots of anti-Catholic prejudice and
misunderstandings about what Catholicism really is. Many people are generally unaware, for
instance, that we believe in Jesus Christ, and many truly believe that we adore the Bl. Virgin
Mary, so these are just a few of the things that one has to struggle against.” These assumptions
regarding the theology of the Catholic Church serve to further distance Catholicism from
Evangelical Lutheranism, when in fact both religions uphold Jesus Christ as God and refuse to
worship Mary.
This negative perception of the Catholic Church and the propagation of the idea of
Catholics as “others” builds on a historical story in Denmark that prevents churches from being
involved in charity. When Lutheranism swept the country, it brought with it the idea that the
state ought to take from the church the role of providing relief for the poor.114 In fact, some even
attribute the “historically decisive prelude to secularization and the welfare state” to Protestant
thought.115 This change was so complete that even during the recent European economic crisis,
114
115
Hiilamo 402
Ibid. 402
37
during which the Danish government had to cut its welfare spending, there was no public
discussion of reinvolving the churches, Catholic or otherwise, in the process of relief for the
poor.116 However, this aspect of caring for the poor is an important part of Catholic theology.
Thus once again the boundaries of Danish identity and Catholicism conflict, and Catholics are
prevented from participating in the care of the poor due to historical circumstances and a
negative public perception.
Note: Additional Impacts
During my interviews, I was surprised at the number of subjects who mentioned nonpolitical impacts of being Catholic. Several mentioned alienation from friends, coworkers, or
society in general. This goes beyond the realm of my study, but it is important to note that the
characteristic of being Catholic does produce many impacts outside of simply the political realm.
More study should be done regarding the relational impacts of the choice to identify as Catholic
when Catholicism is a religious minority.
Subsection 3: The Survival of the Catholic Church
Given the number of factors against the survival of the Catholic Church within Denmark,
it may be surprising that Catholics do live and live out their faith in Denmark. There are two
reasons my interview subjects provided as to why this might be the case.
First, the Catholic Church is gaining converts. This may be an unreliable phenomenon, as
one subject indicated: “As far as I know, the Catholic Church is actually growing at the moment,
116
Hiilamo 411
38
although there are fewer and fewer Christians in Denmark. If our growth will continue, or if the
general turning towards atheism will get a grip amongst Catholics, I don’t know.” However,
another subject indicated that these conversions will continue as they are the result of the
increasingly non-religious nature of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark: “There are
still some few people who do convert to the Catholic Church every year, and these years more
and more seem to be making the move from Protestantism to Catholicism, mostly due to the
inherent problems of the Lutheran Church, which has become increasingly secularized and
relativistic in its nature.” Time will tell which is the more accurate understanding of the cause of
these conversions, but either way, the fact remains that they exist. If enough Danes did convert
and become Catholic, the social perception of Catholicism as the faith of immigrants may
change.
Second, due to the minority nature of the Catholic Church, Catholics in Denmark tend to
be more devoted to their faith and more tightly knit together than their Evangelical Lutheran
counterparts. This follows the Danish perception that Catholics are fanatical and exclusive, but it
also follows what we would assume to be the general pattern of a minority group, as I discussed
previously. Regarding the devotion or fanaticism, one subject explained, “We have relatively
many smaller parishes, some with only a few hundred members, but in spite of this, there has
always been a core of about 30-50 people in these parishes who come on Sundays. Because the
Church has few members, many of the lay faithful feel that they have a responsibility for the
Church, and therefore take on many responsibilities such as catechesis and administration, which
helps the priest focus on his task as a shepherd.” This increase in community involvement both
engages the parishioners in active community service within the parish and allows the leader of
the parish to focus on other tasks. Regarding the close community or exclusionary nature of the
39
Catholic Church, one subject noted, “It is generally not easy to be a Catholic in this country,
because we’re such a small minority, but I do think that this does help many to seek deeper into
the Church, because they can find like-minded people in their parish, rather than outside of it.”
These two factors that have helped to keep the Catholic faith alive, along with the
increasing flow of Catholic immigrants which I have already noted, could either help to change
societal perception of Catholics or to strengthen it. When I asked subjects what they would like
to see change about the Danish societal perception, answers included the following.
•
The Catholic Church is, like the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Christian.
•
The Catholic Church does, like the Evangelical Lutheran Church, teach that Jesus
Christ was the Son of God.
•
The Catholic Church is not pedophiliac, though some of its members may be.
•
The Catholic Church is not anti-science. In fact, it has promoted science.
•
The Catholic Church does not understand the Bible to be a scientific text.
•
The Catholic Church upholds the moral code it does because of ethical and
scientific standards, not simply to uphold the old ways.
•
More generally, fanatics within a religion ought not to reflect on the religion as a
whole.
However, given the limited social and political power this religious minority experiences,
it is difficult to tell if these desired changes will ever occur.
40
VI. Discussion and Conclusions
Denmark’s historical trajectory has not been kind to the outgroups in its society, and its
current attitude toward the religious minority of Catholics is no different. This confirmed my
first two hypotheses: (1) because of nationalism and the emphasis on tradition in Danish society,
religions are ostracized if they tend to conflict with aspects of the Danish identity and (2)
because of nationalism, immigration, tradition, and privacy, Danish society considers
Catholicism as an “other” identity contrary to the true Danish identity. The end result of this is
less popular involvement in politics and polarization instead of integration. This affirmed my
hypothesis 3: because Catholics are considered “others,” they have a lower level of political
power than mainstream Evangelical Lutherans do. This is evidenced through the expression of
their views and opinions, through their likelihood to vote, and through their separation from the
charitable nature of the Church. The Danish story warns of the dangers for religious minorities of
a tight relationship for church and state. As the world becomes more connected and more
pluralistic, I theorize that Denmark can either integrate minorities (religious or otherwise) into
the Danish identity or it can keep its strict definition of Danish identity, risking the possibility
that “true Danes” may become a minority.
This situation is not specific to Denmark. More broadly, I theorize that countries with a
strong sense of national identity and a religious history are:
•
less likely to promote religious freedom (in culture if not in law)
•
strong proponents of very separate roles for Church and State (in culture if not in law)
•
more likely to be secular
41
•
more difficult to live in for Catholic Christians than for Protestant Christians, due to the
nature of Catholicism
I intend to test this theory through replicating my some project using more case studies in the
future.
Other research that can be done includes a study of what other impacts result from this
ostracization of minority groups, specifically relational impacts. Additionally, a very timely
project for Europe and for the United States would be to study the role religious organizations
play in integrating immigrants into a society.
42
Images
Image 1: Euratlas. Europe in Year 900. Online image. History of Europe. Accessed 19 March
2015…………………………………………………………………………………Pg. 7.
Image 2. Historifaget. “Jellingstenen.” Online photograph. Accessed 1 March 2015………Pg. 7.
Image 3: Garipzanov, Ildar. “Religious Symbols on Early Christian Scandinavian Coins (Ca.
995–1050): From Imitation to Adaptation.” Viator 42, no. 1 (2011): 35-53…………Pg. 8.
Image 4: Ibid. ……………………………………………………………...…………………Pg. 8.
Image 5: Euratlas. Europe in Year 1400. Online image. History of Europe. Accessed 19 March
2015…………………………………………………………………………………Pg. 10.
Image 6: Euratlas. Europe in Year 1500. Online image. History of Europe. Accessed 19 March
2015…………………………………………………………………………………Pg. 10.
Image 7: Euratlas. Europe in Year 1800. Online image. History of Europe. Accessed 19 March
2015…………………………………………………………………………………Pg. 16.
Image 8: Euratlas. Europe in Year 1900. Online image. History of Europe. Accessed 19 March
2015…………………………………………………………………………………Pg. 16.
43
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