Dissenter Acts ( sv, Dissenterlagarna) were laws, enacted by the

King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument o ...

with the consent of the

Swedish Parliament The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and s ...

, which gave

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

s who wanted to leave the then established

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

the right to do so, provided that the

dissenter A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...

s then joined one of the state-approved denominations. The first such edict was decreed in 1860 by Karl XV and the '' Ståndsriksdag''; the second one in 1873 by

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and the reorganized bicameral ''

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

''. Neither the ''Ståndsriksdag'', divided into four Estates, nor the newer ''Riksdag'' could be said to be truly democratic, though, as the

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

was restricted to males who owned property. The 1873 edict remained in force until the 1951 Religious Freedom Act (''religionsfrihetslag''); the Church of Sweden remained the established state church until 2000. Despite the enactment of the Dissenter Acts, nonconformists were still required to financially support the then established Church of Sweden: :The state religion is the Evangelical Lutheran doctrine, in the sense that the churches which have concurred in this creed are described as a state church, placed under the king's (government's) "supervision, care and defence," for which the state so defines its constitution and economy that the King and his Cabinet Council determines the religion. This religion is taught in state schools and has special constitutional protection; furthermore, its clergy constitute an Estate of the realm. There shall be a Board of Education to which the king will appoint church officials. Holidays of the state church shall be respected even by adherents of foreign creeds, who also must contribute to its expenses. The king and parliament participate in the establishment of canon law; the king establishes the church bylaws. It has even happened that His Royal Majesty has contributed government funds to reward preachers who have countered heterodox dissenters. The king is ''summus episcopus'' (archbishop), the Church's head and governor (''cujus est regio, illius est religio'', "The religion of a country is that of its ruler"), with a territorial system as opposed to hierarchical and self-governing systems."''Statsreligion är den ev.-lutherska läran så till vida, att det kyrkosamfund, som anslutit sig till denna trosbekännelse, betecknas såsom statskyrka, d. v. s. står under konungens (statens) »uppsikt, vård och försvar», hvarför staten ordnar dess författning och ekonomi. Jfr best:na om konungens och statsrådens religion. Denna religion läres i statens skolor samt är genom grundlag särskildt skyddad, hvarförutom dess präster utgjort ett riksstånd; ett ecklesiastikdepartement skall finnas; konungen tillsätter en del kyrkliga ämbetsmän; statskyrkans helgdagar skola respekteras äfven af främmande trosbekännare, som ock måste bidraga till dess utgifter; konung och riksdag deltaga i kyrkolags stiftande, konungen gifver kyrkostadgar. Det har till och med händt, att k. m:t lämnat bidrag af statsmedel till aflönande af extra predikant med uppgift att motverka vissa dissenters villomeningar. Konungen är ''summus episcopus'' (summ-episkopat), kyrkans hufvud- och styresman (''cujus est regio, illius est religio''): territorialsystem i motsats till hierarkiakt och associationssystem.''" ''K. Hagman
Sveriges grundlagar med förklaringar, bihang och register
', 1902: P. A. Norstedt & Söner, Stockholm, page 8 (

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electronic copy)

Edicts

* ''Förordning angående främmande trosbekännare och deras religionsöfning'' (Edict concerning adherents of foreign creeds and their exercise of religion, 1860) * ''Konglig Förordning ang främmande trosbekännare och deras religionsöfning den 31 oktober 1873'' (Royal Edict of October 31, 1873 re adherents of foreign creeds and their religious worship)

Notes

{{Catholic Church in Sweden 1860 in Sweden 1873 in Sweden Law of Sweden Freedom of religion Christianity and law in the 19th century 1860 in Christianity 1873 in Christianity History of religion in Sweden Legal history of Sweden

Edicts

See also

Notes