Kyrkohistorisk utbildning och kyrklig förkunnelse

Historiska nedslag från Skåne, Blekinge och Småland under 350 år

Abstract

This article is a revised version of the author’s lecture held after being appointed reader in church history at Lund University in 2018. It shortly summarizes some of the author’s research between this appointment and his dissertation (2014). The article begins with the foundation of Lund University in 1666 and some examples on the aims and organization of the university’s instruction in church history. As an example of the challenge that Pietism presented to orthodox Lutheranism in early eighteenth-century Sweden, the article discusses how a priest in Karlskrona was investigated by the Chapter of Lund due to suspicions of his preaching being Pietistic. Another theme is the Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg’s use of history and especially his depiction of preaching in the Swedish churchfrom the Reformation onwards. Further, a suggestion for new research on a special form of Swedish piety found in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Småland is presented together with possible source material. Finally, a comment is made on the aims and methods of contemporary academic church history in Sweden, relating to an article by church historian Joel Halldorf. Contrary to Halldorf, the author of this article does not use or advocate the use of normative theological and confessional interpretations within the academic discipline of church history, but uses and advocates the use of a wide range of historical-critical methods.