With a reference to Erich Bayreuther, this paper discusses the implementation process of new ethical standards that took place in South-Western Norway during the first half of the 19th century, caused by the comprehensive religious revivals of followers of Hans Nielsen Hauge.
In regions where the Haugeans gained a significant ...
(Show more)With a reference to Erich Bayreuther, this paper discusses the implementation process of new ethical standards that took place in South-Western Norway during the first half of the 19th century, caused by the comprehensive religious revivals of followers of Hans Nielsen Hauge.
In regions where the Haugeans gained a significant appearance, their presence led to a change in lifestyle, also affecting those people not taking part in the revivals, for example in regard to level of liquor consumption, new customs at social events and gatherings, manual labour on holidays, and so on.
The spiritually awakened appealed to the traditional religious authorities and were solidly rooted in the pre-modern world-view. On the other hand, the methods they used were radical and pathbreaking for the modernisation process, modernisation implying a change in mentality leading in turn to changes in society and economy. In reality, the early Christian awakened advocated personal religious choice, by promoting individualization and personal responsibility. The religious revivals of the 1800s were thereby an important element in the process of modernisation, distancing themselves from traditional and local frames and leaving the individual no longer in the same obligation to the local community and face-to-face meetings. Furthermore, this demanded a civilising process, by Norbert Elias’ interpretation, which implied both self-discipline and individualisation.
The paper will discuss several probable causes of the early arrival of religious awakenings and their far-reaching consequences in South-Western Norway. In this paper I refer to Anthony Giddens’ work on modernity. I argue that the changes in the local community may have influenced the “climate” for the new religious thinking and changes in norms, and that people gave religious answers to the new questions of the time.
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