Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Publication Year
Articles 1 - 30 of 33
Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Prohibition Among Danish American Lutherans, Nick Kofod Mogensen
Prohibition Among Danish American Lutherans, Nick Kofod Mogensen
The Bridge
On January 17, 1920, a major change took place in American society. The Eighteenth Amendment went into effect and started the Prohibition Era, banning the sale of alcohol in the United States from 1920 to 1933. Prohibition was not a uniquely American idea. Under pressure from temperance movements, most Nordic countries banned or severely restricted the sale of alcohol around the same time as the United States did. The Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Finland all banned alcohol during the first few decades of the twentieth century. Although a narrow majority of the Swedish people refused an outright ban in …
On Danish-American Cultural Identity, Signe Sloth
On Danish-American Cultural Identity, Signe Sloth
The Bridge
In 1967 an article was published which kick-started a discussion that is still going on among sociologists today. The subject of the article is American civil religion and the writer is the American sociologist Robert Bellah who claims that every nation and every people has a religious self-understanding. He advocates an American civil religion that is separated from other denominations and established religious institutions, but just like them demands recognition and understanding. Bellah defines this Civil Religion as " ... A genuine apprehension of universal and transcendental religious reality as seen in or . . . as revealed through the …
Non-Lutheran Denominations Among The Danish Immigrant Churches, Robert A (Bob) Olsen
Non-Lutheran Denominations Among The Danish Immigrant Churches, Robert A (Bob) Olsen
The Bridge
The combined 2012 Issue (Volume 35) of "The Bridge" was a translation of Max Henius' "Den Danskfodte Amerikaner" (The Danish-Born American), published in 1912. It is a fascinating addition for the English speaking "Danes" dealing with many aspects of the lives of the approximately 300,000 Danish-born that emigrated to the United States in the years prior to that time. It discusses many aspects of Danish-American life at the time, ranging from schools, societies, the Danish press, old people's homes, organizations and churches. Unfortunately when it comes to schools, churches, and newspapers there is barely a mention of anything outside of …
The United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church In America: A Brief Overview Of Its History And Activity, P. S. Vig
The Bridge
“The United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America” is the name of an organization of congregations and pastors who are among those Danes who have immigrated to America, and who desire to hold firmly to the faith in which they were baptized, to remain in that church to which they have belonged since childhood, and who want to support the effort to preserve that faith in their adopted land and pass that heritage on to their children. This goal is not attainable except by mutual work, sacrifice and effort. “The United Church,” as we are now used to saying in …
Religion And Integration Among The Danish Immigrants In The Us 1848-1914, Marianne Sletten Paasch
Religion And Integration Among The Danish Immigrants In The Us 1848-1914, Marianne Sletten Paasch
The Bridge
One of the most controversial social issues in the western hemisphere today is the integration of immigrants into a host society. The problems appear to be many and the solutions few. In Denmark we have had a long and at times heated debate about immigrants, their integration into Danish society and their religious practices - including how religion can influence the integration process of immigrants. During the last 10 years this "problem" has made headlines over and over again and has often greatly influenced the decision making process of our parliament. But we are not alone. The "integration problem" exists …
Politics Among Danish Americans In The Midwest, Ca. 1890-1914, Jorn Brondal
Politics Among Danish Americans In The Midwest, Ca. 1890-1914, Jorn Brondal
The Bridge
During the last decades of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, ethnicity and religion played a vital role in shaping the political culture of the Midwest. Indeed, historians like Samuel P. Hays, Lee Benson, Richard Jensen (of part Danish origins), and Paul Kleppner argued that ethnoreligious factors to a higher degree than socioeconomic circumstances informed the party affiliation of ordinary voters.1 It is definitely true that some ethnoreligious groups like, say, the Irish Catholics and the German Lutherans boasted fullfledged political subcultures complete with their own press, their own political leadership and to some extent, at least, their own …
Carl Theodor Dreyer' S Response To Anti-Semitism In His Unfilmed Jesus Film Scenario, Peter G. Christensen
Carl Theodor Dreyer' S Response To Anti-Semitism In His Unfilmed Jesus Film Scenario, Peter G. Christensen
The Bridge
The controversy in 2004 over possible anti-Semitism in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ had precedents in earlier Jesus-films. Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Gospel According to Matthew and Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth have also been accused of anti-Semitism. Carl Theodor Dreyer (1889-1968) wanted to combat anti-Semitism, as he directly stated in his own essays attached to his Jesus screenplay, which since his death has been published in English, Danish, and French versions. Dreyer began the film project in 1949-1950 in Independence, Missouri, writing in English, and he worked on it until the end of his life. However, he …
Danish Churches And Congregations In Indianapolis, 1868-1885, Barbara R. George
Danish Churches And Congregations In Indianapolis, 1868-1885, Barbara R. George
The Bridge
A look at the population make-up of Indianapolis and Indiana during the time period from the end of the Civil War (approximately 1865) until the 1880s shows that the Danes had little impact in the relatively small Indiana immigration picture. Indiana was less influenced by foreign born than any other northern state. Although ranking ninth in the number of German-born residents in 1880, Indiana ranked thirteenth in the number of foreign born, and was sixth in total population. As a state it was not particularly aggressive in promoting itself as a viable destination for immigrants, and ranked only in front …
Danish Lutheran Churches In America: Contributions Of The United (Danish) Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1896-1960, Edward A. Hansen
Danish Lutheran Churches In America: Contributions Of The United (Danish) Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1896-1960, Edward A. Hansen
The Bridge
The United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church was formed in 1896 by a merger of two Danish immigrant groups. One group, the "Blair Synod" had been excluded from the Danish Lutherans organized in America in 1872, in a controversy mainly involving the Bible as the Word of God. The second group, the "North Church," had been organized in 1884 by Danish members of the NorwegianDanish Evangelical Lutheran Church (founded in 1870). These Danes had withdrawn peaceably from their Norwegian brethren, in order better to serve immigrants from Denmark. By the 1940s this united church had changed from almost exclusive use of …
The Establishment Of Danish Lutheran Churches In Canada, Rolf Buschardt Christensen
The Establishment Of Danish Lutheran Churches In Canada, Rolf Buschardt Christensen
The Bridge
This paper presents a brief history of the establishment of Danish Lutheran congregations in Canada during the twentieth century. As they will continue to evolve, the paper ends with a short discussion of challenges facing the Danish congregations in Canada as they enter the twenty-first century.
The Christmas Tree And The Two Churches, Johannes V. Knudsen
The Christmas Tree And The Two Churches, Johannes V. Knudsen
The Bridge
Part of the Danish American heritage is the fact that there were, unfortunately, some believe, two separate Danish American Lutheran Church groups. Because of theological differences (and perhaps personality conflicts, as well) between these two groups, they remained separate entities from their complex beginnings in the latter half of the nineteenth century until mergers took place with a number of other ethnic Lutheran church groups in the early 1960s, culminating in the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1988. The histories of and differences between the two synods, the American Evangelical Lutheran Church and the United Evangelical …
The Bridge Builders Of Luther Memorial, Wilber J. Williamson
The Bridge Builders Of Luther Memorial, Wilber J. Williamson
The Bridge
The congregation of Luther Memorial Church in Des Moines, Iowa, celebrated its centennial anniversary in 1999, during which time there was a good deal of reflection concerning the historical roots and activities of the church during the preceding one hundred years. Much of the early history of the congregation was closely associated with Grand View College. During the first decades, the school provided worship facilities as well as the pastor services for the emerging congregation. With financial support from the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, a building was erected in 1917, which has served as the home for the congregation since …
Peder Kjolhede-Man Of Action, Thorvald Hansen
Peder Kjolhede-Man Of Action, Thorvald Hansen
The Bridge
Prior to the coming of the Protestant Reformation in 1536, the area in which Peder Kjoilhede (hereinafter Kjolhede) was born and grew up was owned by the Roman Catholic bishops. This area, south of the Limfjord and close to the west coast of Jutland, became the property of the king. It was parceled out by him to those who had rendered service to him, and much later, through division and sales, a portion of it came to be the property of Johan Kjolhede and was known as the farm of Kjolhedegird.
Restless Fanatic:Mogens Abraham Sommer, 1829-1901, Thorvald Hansen
Restless Fanatic:Mogens Abraham Sommer, 1829-1901, Thorvald Hansen
The Bridge
This account of the life and activities of a Danish religious fanatic who played a significant role in emigration has been prepared on the basis of materials available in this country. Further items are available in Denmark, but on the basis of what is known to be available, it is doubtful that this would make any appreciable difference. To my knowledge, this is the only English language story of his life.
A Norwegian In The Pew Of Budolfi Cathedral In Aalborg: The Annunciation Of The Virgin Mary, 1996, Oyvind T. Gulliksen
A Norwegian In The Pew Of Budolfi Cathedral In Aalborg: The Annunciation Of The Virgin Mary, 1996, Oyvind T. Gulliksen
The Bridge
As an alien soul from the Norwegian church, I sought refuge in Aalborg cathedral on the Fifth Sunday in Lent, the feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary ("Marire bebudelses
The Turkey, Carl Hansen
The Turkey, Carl Hansen
The Bridge
The church bells did not chime in Rainesville, for there was no church. But there was a schoolhouse, and in it, the Danish and Norwegian church folk gathered twice a month to hear a Norwegian pastor, who in half an hour taught his parishioners about predestination, free will, and the Missouri Synod's infallibility. But it was still Christmas Eve, even if the church bells did not chime. And if there was anyone who doubted it, they could just stick their noses inside Jens Larsen's door to be convinced.
Tireless In His Service: Rasmus Andersen, Pastor And Author 1878-1924, Thorvald Hansen
Tireless In His Service: Rasmus Andersen, Pastor And Author 1878-1924, Thorvald Hansen
The Bridge
Of the four founders of the Danish Lutheran Church in America in 1872, the one concerning whom the most information exists is Rasmus Andersen. Yet it has been my observation that comparatively little is known about him. A reason for this is that, to my knowledge, no comprehensive biography exists, and there is almost nothing available in the English language. Most of the material that does exist is to be found in the Danes World Wide Archives ("Udvandrerarkivet") in Aalborg, Denmark. According to Birgit Flemming Larsen, who oversees that archive, the Andersen collection is the largest at the Aalborg archive. …
Peasant Revivalism And Secularization: Protestant Popular Culture In Denmark And Sweden 1820-1850, Hanne Sanders
Peasant Revivalism And Secularization: Protestant Popular Culture In Denmark And Sweden 1820-1850, Hanne Sanders
The Bridge
The subject of this dissertation is religious revivalism in Danish and Swedish agrarian society in the first half of the nineteenth century. Its purpose has been to analyse a specific religious phenomenon in a presecularized society. As other historians have done, I have analysed revivalism from a social and a political point of view. Furthermore, I have focused on the religious dimension of the movement not as a theological, but as a cultural and social problem. My main thesis is that during the secularization of society the meaning of religion changed from knowledge and social culture it came to mean …
Pioneer Life In The Big Dane Settlement, August Rasmussen
Pioneer Life In The Big Dane Settlement, August Rasmussen
The Bridge
My experience in pioneer life commenced in 1856, after a long and stormy voyage from Denmark to America in that year. I shall, by the kind assistance of the Independent, give a little of my pioneer life and settlement during forty-five years. My thoughts are running back to the first Christmas I celebrated here in America, in 1856. It was a merry one, as you will see farther on. My wife and I were then both young, about twenty-seven years each.
Three Churches At West Denmark, Edwin Pedersen
Three Churches At West Denmark, Edwin Pedersen
The Bridge
Not many congregations know the heartbreak of losing two churches and a parsonage to fire in less than fifty years, or have in their congregation two members who can remember the building of three churches; but so it is at West Denmark, Wisconsin.
The Theological Contributions Of Johannes V. Knudsen, Axel Kildegaard
The Theological Contributions Of Johannes V. Knudsen, Axel Kildegaard
The Bridge
"The glory of God is man fully alive." That quotation attributed to lreneus, Church father and first systematic theologian, is about 1800 years old. It affords a clue in my search for the common thread that runs throughout the seemingly diverse theological interests of Johannes V. Knudsen. The Celt, lreneus, Bishop of Lyons, who lived in the volatile second century when the Christian tradition was taking shape, wrote two significant works. One defined the basic Christian teachings, and the other, Against the Heresies, answered false teachings. These works spoke also to the interests of Bishop N.F.S. Grundtvig in 19th century …
Children Of Danish Roots, L.C. Laursen
Children Of Danish Roots, L.C. Laursen
The Bridge
Children of Danish Roots is a translation by Willard R. Garred of Stammens B0rn, an article that appeared originally in the 1931 issue of the "Ryslinge Julebog," a Christmas magazine of the Ryslinge Folk High School, Ryslinge, Denmark. The article was written by L. C. Laursen when he lived in the western Nebraska community at Mirage Flats near Hay Springs. After his arrival in the community he named it Ryslinge, a name generally accepted by the settlers and their friends.
Danish Methodists In America, Arlow W. Andersen
Danish Methodists In America, Arlow W. Andersen
The Bridge
The separate histories of foreign-language missions present a special challenge to students of American church history. Descendants of the immigrants, more and more of mixed ancestry, lack the ability to read and translate material published in the language of their forebears. To make matters more difficult, the children and grandchildren of the pioneers often shun the tedious work of research and writing. Their handicaps apply to the offspring of all foreignspeaking peoples in America. Of the nineteenth-century immigrants, the Danes come to mind.
Enok Mortensen As Preacher, Thorvald Hansen
Enok Mortensen As Preacher, Thorvald Hansen
The Bridge
Unless one were aware of it, one would not be likely to guess that Enok Mortensen was an immigrant. Even when one was aware of it, one tended to forget the fact. In his speaking and in his writing, Mortensen did not portray the usual marks of a Danish immigrant. His pronunciation of English was flawless and he was no stranger to English grammar. He was as much at home in one language as the other and he was as much a part of America as he was of his native Denmark.
Danebod Fall Meeting, Elsie S. Hansen
Danebod Fall Meeting, Elsie S. Hansen
The Bridge
In 1943 when Enok Mortensen and his family arrived in Tyler, Minnesota, to begin his pastorate at Danebod Lutheran Church, they were greeted by a severe blizzard which prevented them from moving into the parsonage for several days. The parsonage, located across from the church, had been redecorated, cleaned, insulated and made ready for their occupancy and soon they were comfortably ensconced. This was to be their home for almost 18 years.
Enok Mortensen And Askov, Hans Henningsen
Enok Mortensen And Askov, Hans Henningsen
The Bridge
The connection between Enok Mortensen and Askov Folk High School in Denmark came about accidentally, as it were, in the middle of the 1950s. The background was that rector Knud Hansen made some critical remarks, in an interview, about the United States and American foreign policy. This caused a great to-do in the press, so much so that the American ambassador decided to visit Askov Folk High School to judge for himself whether it were possible that Askov had "gone communist." Shortly thereafter Knud Hansen received an official invitation to spend three months in the United States. The visit, which …
A. P. Andersen - Saga Of A Danish Immigrant, Henry Jorgensen
A. P. Andersen - Saga Of A Danish Immigrant, Henry Jorgensen
The Bridge
Pastor Ove Nielsen, retired assistant director of Lutheran World Relief, provided the initiative for this biography when he wrote to the author and suggested that research be done and a biography be written for The Bridge on Anders Peder Andersen. Andersen, a Danish immigrant and farmer in Montana, was knighted by the King of his native land at which time attention was called to his many accomplishments.
Chapter V: Danish Religious Life In Chicago -- Trinity Church
Chapter V: Danish Religious Life In Chicago -- Trinity Church
The Bridge
When the Danes came to America, the Church of Denmark did not follow on their heels. The Danish Church believed that most Danish emigrants were dissenters, not supporters of the established Lutheran church. The Church viewed Danish immigration as too small to support churches, even in a city as large as Chicago. The few Danes in America might join Norwegian congregations, thereby maintaining ties with a similar form of Lutheranism. 1 The problem of not having churches to attend was somewhat unusual among immigrants. Catholic groups were welcomed by the international Catholic Church, wherever they settled. Such Protestants as the …
The Dano-Norwegian Department Of Chicago Theological Seminary, Frederick Hale
The Dano-Norwegian Department Of Chicago Theological Seminary, Frederick Hale
The Bridge
When European emigration to the United States surged anew after the Civil War, American Protestants of several denominations extended both spiritual and economic assistance to those newcomers who, in their perception, most closely shared their own religious traditions. Scandinavian immigrants, nearly all of whom were at least nominally Protestant, naturally received a generous portion of this aid, much of which came in the form of ministerial education. Young men who looked forward to careers as Lutheran pastors had access to ethnic theological colleges anchored in that tradition if not always in their respective national heritages. Norwegian Lutheran seminarians in the …
"Bring . .. The Books." Notes On The Danish Lutheran Publishing House, 1877-1963, Mark Friis-Hansen
"Bring . .. The Books." Notes On The Danish Lutheran Publishing House, 1877-1963, Mark Friis-Hansen
The Bridge
"The mental alertness and spiritual hunger of the Apostle Paul shine through the words of his request to his young friend Timothy. The business of our Danish Lutheran Publishing House is founded on that, and on our Lord 's command to His Church to bring the Gospel to every nation . . . Its business is not to make money, but to do the printing of the Church. Its success or failure is to be measured not by the figures in its "profits" or "losses" columns, but in the volume or extent of its distribution of Christian books and other …