In 1536 the Danish King and the Danish Council of the Realm made two resolutions. The first was to abolish the Catholic Church; the second was to abolish the independence of the Norwegian Realm and to subjugate it to the Danish Crown. Both in Denmark and Norway, the Protestant Reformation was introduced with a single stroke. The Reformation was carried through with great consequences in the following generations, but this made the two countries only superficially similar. In Denmark the Reformation arose out of an Evangelical movement, while Norway was one hundred percent Catholic. In combination with the political hegemony, the Reformation in Denmark showed signs of great ecclasiastical activity, while Norway was a passive receiver of the changes, and the population sympathized with Catholicism. At the end of the 18th century, 250 years later, when Norway at last experienced a popular Lutheran movement, Denmark moved away from orthodox Lutheranism via rationalism over to 19th century Grundtvigianism. In contrast, the Catholic Church is now four times larger in Norway than in Denmark.
展开▼
