The Conventicle Act (, ) was a decree issued 13 January 1741 by King
Christian VI of Denmark and Norway and forbade
lay preachers
Lay preacher is a preacher or a religious proclaimer who is not a formally ordained cleric and who does not hold a formal university degree in theology. Lay preaching varies in importance between religions and their sects. Although lay preachers ...
from holding religious services –
conventicles
A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly, and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level ''conventicle'' is only a good Latinized synonym of the Greek word church, and points to Jesus' promise in M ...
– without the approval of the local Lutheran priest. The law was repealed in 1839 (officially in 1848) in Denmark and 1842 in Norway, which lay the groundwork for
freedom of assembly
Freedom of peaceful assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right or ability of people to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue, and defend their collective or shared ide ...
.
Denmark
The decree had its roots in developments in the Danish part of
Denmark-Norway.
Pietism
Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and ...
had started to become a strong movement in some circles, coming from Germany in 1703. Among the pietists, conventicles were a foundation of religious life, and prayer and Bible studies were led in the home by
laypeople. Pietism put a heavy emphasis on individual faith, and in such a way that it could threaten the unity of the Danish
state church
A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
. The Danish state in the 1700's broke with pietism by incorporating it into the state religion. The branch of pietism that was incorporated was
August Hermann Francke
August Hermann Francke (; 22 March 1663 – 8 June 1727) was a German Lutheran clergyman, theologian, philanthropist, and Biblical scholar.
Biography
Born in Lübeck, Francke was educated at the Illustrious Gymnasium in Gotha before he studie ...
's form of pietism (), which had a positive relationship with the state and church.
It turned out, however, that stricter legislation was needed to keep the more
radical pietists in check, and this led to the above-mentioned decree in 1741.
Norway was then in union with Denmark, so the law also applied to Norwegians.
The decree stated that only the parish priest could hold such meetings and speak at them. Of course, morning and evening devotions could be held in the family without the priest's participation, but others could not be invited to these devotions. One exception was small group meetings, where the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
was briefly discussed. These gatherings, however, had to be approved by the local parish priest.
In Denmark, the decree was in practice overruled by
Christian VIII
Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814.
Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Frederi ...
in 1839 under the influence of the (religious gatherings), stating that priests should take a more moderate approach towards the groups. In 1848 it was officially repealed.
Norway
The European Protestant movement came to Norway later than to Denmark, but there was influence from the end of the 18th century and the early 19th century.
After 1814, the Conventicle Act was retained as Norwegian law, even though the union with Denmark had been dissolved and Norway was in a union with Sweden. Preacher
Hans Nielsen Hauge
Hans Nielsen Hauge (3 April 1771 – 29 March 1824) was a 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran lay minister, spiritual leader, business entrepreneur, social reformer and author. He led a noted Pietism revival known as the Haugean movement. Hauge is also ...
was particularly known for his disobedience towards and fight against the Conventicle Act.
In 1836 and 1839,
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
tried to repeal it, but was stopped by the government. Only in 1842, when the Parliament adopted the repeal for the third time, did the act pass. When the ordinance was repealed in 1842, it laid an essential foundation for
freedom of assembly
Freedom of peaceful assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right or ability of people to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue, and defend their collective or shared ide ...
in Norway. In the next three years, dispensations were granted for the establishment of church congregations outside the state church. The
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
received their dispensation in 1842 and the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in 1843. In 1845 came the
Dissenter Act which opened the way for all Christian groups to establish themselves in Norway. However,
monastic orders
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...
would remained banned until 1897 and
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
until 1956. Other religions were allowed to organize after 1891.
See also
*
Conventicle Act (Sweden)
The Conventicle Act ( sv, Konventikelplakatet) was a Swedish law, in effect between 21 January 1726 and 26 October 1858 in Sweden and until 1 July 1870 in Finland. The act outlawed all conventicles, or religious meetings of any kind, outside of the ...
– Sweden's law, which was somewhat older
*
Conventicle Act 1664
The Conventicle Act 1664 was an Act of the Parliament of England (16 Charles II c. 4) that forbade conventicles, defined as religious assemblies of more than five people other than an immediate family, outside the auspices of the Church of E ...
– former English Act of Parliament
*
Conventicle Act 1670
The Conventicles Act 1670 is an Act of the Parliament of England (22 Car. II. c. 1) with the long title "An Act to prevent and suppress Seditious Conventicles". The Act imposed a fine on any person who attended a conventicle (any religious assem ...
– former English Act of Parliament
*
Free church
A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fr ...
*
Freedom of religion in Norway
*
Haugean movement
The Haugean movement or Haugeanism ( no, haugianere) was a Pietistic state church reform movement intended to bring new life and vitality into the Church of Norway which had been often characterized by formalism and lethargy. The movement emphas ...
*
Jesuit clause
The Jesuit clause (Norwegian: ) was a provision in the Constitution of Norway, paragraph 2, in force from 1814 to 1956, that denied Jesuits entry into the country. Until 1897, this provision was combined with a ban on monastic orders, and until ...
*
Jew clause
The Jew clause ( no, Jødeparagrafen) is in the vernacular name of the second paragraph of the Constitution of Norway from 1814 to 1851 and from 1942 to 1945. The clause, in its original form, banned Jews from entering Norway, and also forbade ...
References
External links
Konventikkelplakaten historical legal text from Norsk Lærerakademi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conventicle Act (Denmark-Norway)
Legal history of Denmark
Legal history of Norway
1741 in law
1741 in Denmark
1741 in Norway
18th century in Denmark
18th century in Norway
1741 in religion