Lutheranism and the Nordic Spirit of Social Democracy
Lutheranism and the Nordic Spirit of Social Democracy

Author: Robert H Nelson

Publisher: Aarhus Universitetsforlag

Published: 2017-08-01

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 8771844163

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One man's way of thinking about God has decisively shaped the political and economic rise of Nordic social democracy. 500 years ago, Martin Luther's writings led to the Reformation in the Nordic countries, and his values and beliefs shaped more than just the church. Lutheranism is one of the most important influences on the Nordic welfare system and a general belief in social democracy. Indeed, Nordic social democracy itself can be seen as a modern form of religion, or "secular Lutheranism". In Lutheranism and the Nordic Spirit of Social Democracy, Robert Nelson, an American observer and professor of political economy at the University of Maryland, brings a fresh perspective to the interrelated questions of religion, national identity, and governance in the Nordic world. Exploring how Lutheranism never went away as the true path to a new heaven on earth, Nelson shows how the form of Lutheran Nordic religion and culture changed radically, while its substance remained surprisingly unaltered.

Lutheranism and the Nordic Spirit of Social Democracy
Lutheranism and the Nordic Spirit of Social Democracy

Author: Robert Henry Nelson

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9788771842609

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One man's way of thinking about God has decisively shaped the political and economic rise of Nordic social democracy. 500 years ago, Martin Luther's writings led to the Reformation in the Nordic countries, and his values and beliefs shaped more than just the church. Lutheranism is one of the most important influences on the Nordic welfare system and a general belief in social democracy. Indeed, Nordic social democracy itself can be seen as a modern form of religion, or "secular Lutheranism". In Lutheranism and the Nordic Spirit of Social Democracy, Robert Nelson, an American observer and professor of political economy at the University of Maryland, brings a fresh perspective to the interrelated questions of religion, national identity, and governance in the Nordic world. Exploring how Lutheranism never went away as the true path to a new heaven on earth, Nelson shows how the form of Lutheran Nordic religion and culture changed radically, while its substance remained surprisingly unaltered.

On the Legacy of Lutheranism in Finland
On the Legacy of Lutheranism in Finland

Author: Kaius Sinnemäki

Publisher: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura

Published: 2019-12-10

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 9518581509

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This volume analyses the societal legacy of Lutheranism in Finland in broad terms. It contributes to the recent renewed interest in the history of religion in Finland and the Nordic countries by bringing together researchers in history, political science, economics, social psychology, education, linguistics, media studies, and theology to examine the mutual relationship between Lutheranism and society in Finland. The two main foci are (i) the historical effects of the Reformation and its aftermath on societal structures and on national identity, values, linguistic culture, education, and the economy, and (ii) the adaptation of the church – and its theology – to changes in the geo-political and sociocultural context. Important sub-themes include nationalism and religion, the secularization and institutionalization of traditional values, multiple Protestant ethics, and long continuities in history. Overall the book argues that large changes in societies cannot be explained via ‘secular’ factors alone, such as economic development or urbanization, but that factors pertaining to religion provide substantial explanatory power for understanding societal change and the resulting societal structures.

Economics and Religion, What is the Relationship? -- A Case Study of Nordic Social Democracy
Economics and Religion, What is the Relationship? -- A Case Study of Nordic Social Democracy

Author: Robert H. Nelson

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 13

ISBN-13:

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The most influential religions in the public arena of the modern age have been secular religions such as Marxism, the American progressive “gospel of efficiency,” and more recently environmentalism. Environmentalism is a revealing exception but modern secular religions have typically been based on a faith that economic progress will save the world -- that continuing rapid economic advance will abolish poverty and indeed all material scarcity, the true source of bad (sinful) behavior in the world. This paper describes briefly the overall concept of “economic religion” and offers another example of such a religion that has received less study, the secular religion of Nordic social democracy. Like other secular religion, its roots can be traced to earlier themes of Christianity, in the Nordic case to Lutheranism. Indeed, as Max Weber argued with respect to Calvinism and the spirit of capitalism, Lutheranism represents a second Protestant ethic that is a main source of the Nordic spirit of social democracy. This paper explores the relationship of Lutheranism and Nordic social democracy as a further case study of arguments of mine that are developed in greater depth in writings such as Economics as Religion (2001) and The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion versus Environmental Religion in Contemporary America (2010).

Danish Capitalism in the 20th Century
Danish Capitalism in the 20th Century

Author: Stefan Kirkegaard Sløk-Madsen

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-10-21

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 3031042670

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This book outlines the origins of Danish Capitalism and prosperity, from a poor and devastated minor state in the 19th century to a consolidated universal mixed economy welfare state at the end of the 20th century. The book argues that firm-based innovation drove Danish prosperity and redistributive capacity. It is a comprehensive but manageable examination of the institutions and choices that shaped a highly innovative and wealthy nation. The book relies on history and economic theory, presents commonly accepted narratives and theories, and contributes new explanations. Therefore, the book also traces both antecedents and the current state of 20th-century capitalism in Denmark and particular outcomes and critical institutions such as firm age, the labor market, and pension schemes. The book will be of interest to academics in business history and economic policy, as well as policymakers and all those interested in mixed economy studies.

Scandinavian Unexceptionalism
Scandinavian Unexceptionalism

Author: Nima Sanandaji

Publisher: London Publishing Partnership

Published: 2015-06-15

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 0255367058

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This book is important to help an international audience understand the cultural peculiarities behind the Scandinavian “success story”. It is also vital that Scandinavians themselves read this book to help them understand the market reforms that are essential for a successful future.

Lutheranism and social responsibility
Lutheranism and social responsibility

Author: Nina J. Koefoed

Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Published: 2022-05-16

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 3647558680

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The contributions in this volume enter the debate about the way in which the provision of poor relief can be influenced by its national confessional context. They bring new perspectives to the understanding of theological aspects of Lutheranism, such as the connection between justification by faith alone and care for the poor, and work and work ethics. The articles also analyse the implementation of social responsibility of the authority towards different categories of poor ('deserving' and 'undeserving'), local administration and centralization of poor relief through connections of public and private sources of funding, and collaboration between state, church and civil society through different public and private aspects of poor relief. In this way the various contributions combine to demonstrate new ways in the study of the connection between confessional specifics and historical developments through detailed knowledge of theology, supported by concrete historical case studies.

The Making and Circulation of Nordic Models, Ideas and Images
The Making and Circulation of Nordic Models, Ideas and Images

Author: Haldor Byrkjeflot

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-10-19

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 1000504034

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This critical and empirically based volume examines the multiple existing Nordic models, providing analytically innovative attention to the multitude of circulating ideas, images and experiences referred to as "Nordic". It addresses related paradoxes as well as patterns of circulation, claims about the exceptionality of Nordic models, and the diffusion and impact of Nordic experiences and ideas. Providing original case studies, the book further examines how the Nordic models have been constructed, transformed and circulated in time and in space. It investigates the actors and channels that have been involved in circulating models: journalists and media, bureaucrats and policy-makers, international organizations, national politicians and institutions, scholars, public diplomats and analyses where and why models have travelled. Finally, the book shows that Nordic models, perspectives, or ideas do not always originate in the Nordic region, nor do they always develop as deliberate efforts to promote Nordic interests. This book will be of key interest to Nordic and Scandinavian studies, European studies, and more broadly to history, sociology, political science, marketing, social policy, organizational theory and public management. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Secular Schooling in the Long Twentieth Century?
Secular Schooling in the Long Twentieth Century?

Author: Merethe Roos

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2024-09-23

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 311115257X

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The twentieth-century process of secularization does not mean that institutional church and Christian ideas were irrelevant for twentieth-century societal projects - such as the introduction of democracy, the improvement of school and education, the framing of national identities - or in the establishment of welfare-states. On the contrary, this publication is built on the presupposition that secularization runs parallell with the sacralization of the state. It can be argued that Christianity has been decisive for how the modern European society evolved in the twentieth century, e.g. concerning how Christian history and Christian values were a part of the new national and social imaginary where re-enchantment and re-sacralization of the state were central elements. In this publication, the aim is to highlight the role of Christianity in the twentieth- and twentyfirst-century welfare-state modernization process with the focus on schooling and education. A central perspective is the impact of cultural Protestantism during the twentieth century. The publication is comparative and will investigate education in Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands via chapters on curriculums, textbooks, politicians, and political debates.

Faith and Reason in the Reformations
Faith and Reason in the Reformations

Author: Terence J. Kleven

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-12-06

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 1793606897

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The five-hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation reawakened a long-standing and spirited conversation between philosophic science and religious faith, a conversation which continues to have consequences on how we understand both science and faith. This book brings scholars together to reflect on the topic of the Protestant Reformation, as well as the Roman Catholic Counter Reformation, the nature of science, and the unity of the Church. Five chapters in this collection represent five distinct theological formulations within Christianity; the other seven chapters are from a variety of historic, philosophic, and theological starting points on the topic. These twelve accounts range from theologies informed by the Classical Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle; medieval Jewish and Roman Catholic writers; Moses Maimonides and Thomas More; writers of the Protestant Reformation (Martin Luther, John Calvin, Richard Hooker, and William Shakespeare); the founders of modern science (Francis Bacon and T. H. Huxley), and the modern day theologies of Abraham Kuyper, Flannery O’Connor, H. R. Niebuhr, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.