Historisk Tidskrift. Utgiven av Svenska historiska föreningen
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Historisk tidskrift 129:4 • 2009

Innehåll (Contents) 2009:4

Uppsatser (Articles)

”Ett nytt namn på en gammal sak” Synen på kristendomen i tidig svensk socialism

Av Tomas Fransson

 

Fulltext (pdf)

Summary

“A new word for an old thing” – the Interpretation of Christianity in the Early Swedish Socialist Movement

Based on a study of Swedish socialist newspapers from the period 1850 to 1910, this study analyzes the way early socialists interpreted Christianity. The socialists tried to establish an alternative understanding of the true meaning of Christianity to the one promoted by the Lutheran state church. Rather than rejecting the Christian message, the socialists reinterpreted Christianity to accord with their own political aims. In contrast to the official Church, the socialists understood the message of Jesus and the early Christians as a political and social rather than a religious message. In their polemics against the Church, and in their views that Jesus was a reformer who tried to establish a “kingdom of God” on this earth, the early socialists were inspired by contemporary liberal theologians and biblical scholars.

Keywords

Sweden, 19th century, Christianity, socialism, political history, history of ideas.