Kristian Vilhelm Koren Schjelderup (18 January 1894 – 28 March 1980) was a Norwegian

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

theologian, author, and bishop of the

Diocese of Hamar The Diocese of Hamar () is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner Municipality in Akershus county. Administratively, the diocese is divided into 1 ...

in the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

from 1947 to 1964. He was noted as a warm-hearted and intellectual, liberal theologian.Article about Kristian Vilhelm Koren Schjelderup, Jr.
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Agder University College The University of Agder (), formerly known as Agder College and Agder University College, is a public university with campuses in Kristiansand and Grimstad, Norway. The institution was established as a university college (''høgskole'') in 19 ...

Personal life

He was born in Dybvåg as the son of bishop Kristian Vilhelm Koren Schjelderup and Henriette Nicoline Hassel. He had several brothers and sisters. His younger brother

Harald Krabbe Schjelderup Harald Krabbe Schjelderup (21 May 1895 – 19 August 1974) was a Norwegian physicist, philosopher and psychologist. He worked with all three subjects on university level, but is best remembered as Norway's first professor of psychology. He was ...

became a professor of psychology.

Career

Kristian Schjelderup moved with his family to Kristiansand in 1903, where his father was appointed bishop in 1908. He graduated as

Cand.theol. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

in 1918, and earned the Dr.theol. degree in 1923. He worked as a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

from 1921 to 1927; during this time, seeking to reconcile belief and knowledge in the modern world and inspired by

Rudolf Otto Rudolf Otto (25 September 1869 – 7 March 1937) was a German Lutheran theologian, philosopher, and comparative religionist. He is regarded as one of the most influential scholars of religion in the early twentieth century and is best known fo ...

, who he had come to know during a semester at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

, he travelled to the Far East to study

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. He also studied

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

with

Oskar Pfister Oskar Pfister (; 23 February 1873 – 6 August 1956) was a Swiss Lutheran minister and lay psychoanalyst. Biography Pfister studied theology, philosophy and psychology at the University of Zurich and the University of Basel, graduating in 1898 i ...

in Zürich and translated works by

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...

. In 1932 he and his brother Harald jointly published ''Über drei Haupttypen der religiösen Erlebnisformen und ihre psychologische Grundlage'' (On Three Major Types of the Form of the Religious Experience and their Psychological Bases).Hjelde
p. 496
He published multiple articles, including a series on the historical origins of Christianity, later published in book form as ''Hvem Jesus var og hvad kirken har gjørt ham til'' (Who Jesus was and what the Church made of him) which criticised liberal theology for indecisiveness and aroused serious disagreements in the theology department of the university.Hjelde
p. 495
In 1928, Schjelderup applied for a position as

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

in the parish for

Værøy Municipality Værøy is an island List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the villa ...

and

Røst Municipality Røst is a small island List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the R� ...

, but although he was the only applicant, the Minister of Church Affairs, Sigvald Mathias Hasund, did not appoint him. However, a few years later he obtained a position at a research institute in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, Christian Michelsens Institutt for Videnskap og Åndsfrihet. He was a pacifist from his youth onward. Schjelderup founded the ''Landslaget for frilyndt kristendom'' (League for Free-Thinking Christianity), which was dissolved in 1933. In 1938, together with

Anders Platou Wyller Anders Platou Wyller (24 April 1903 - 2 October 1940) was a Norwegian philologist and humanist. Biography Wyller was born at Stavanger in Rogaland, Norway. He was the son of Thomas Christian Wyller (1858-1921) and Birgitte Platou (1862-1922). His ...

and

Henriette Bie Lorentzen Henriette Bie Lorentzen (18 July 1911 – 23 August 2001), born Anna Henriette Wegner Haagaas, was a Norwegian journalist, humanist, peace activist, feminist, co-founder of the Nansen Academy, resistance member and concentration camp survivor du ...

, he founded a humanistic academy, the

Nansen Academy The Nansen Academy – Norwegian Humanistic Academy () is a folk high school in Lillehammer, Norway. History Nansen Academy was founded as a humanist and anti-totalitarian institution. The school was named after polar explorer, scientist, author a ...

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

; he headed it until it was closed down in 1940. (It reopened after the war and still exists.) Through the ''Landslaget for frilyndt kristendom'' and its journal, ''Fritt ord'' (Free Word), Schjelderup came in contact with

Jakob Wilhelm Hauer Jakob Wilhelm Hauer (4 April 1881 in Ditzingen, Württemberg – 18 February 1962 in Tübingen) was a German Indologist and religious studies writer. He was the founder of the German Faith Movement. Biography Initially trained in the famil ...

, founder of the

German Faith Movement The German Faith Movement (''Deutsche Glaubensbewegung'') was a religious movement in Nazi Germany that existed between 1933 and 1945, closely associated with University of Tübingen professor Jakob Wilhelm Hauer. The movement sought to move Ge ...

. Initially he regarded Hauer and his group as kindred spirits, which caused him to be criticised in 1935 as an "unwilling apostle of Fascism. But in a book published in 1935, ''På vei mot hedenskapet'' (On the Way to Paganism), he criticised the Nazi German politics of nationalism, militarism, racism and anti-Semitism which coloured the German Faith Movement, and in 1936, after a coup toppled Hauer from its leadership, he decided, and stated as much in a newspaper article, that the political wing had gained the upper hand and it had ceased to be a religious movement. From then on he gave his support only to the clergy resisting the Nazis. Schjelderup was imprisoned in

Grini concentration camp Grini prison camp (, ) was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945. Ila Detention and Security Prison is now located here. History Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft ...

by the Nazi occupiers of Norway in 1942. Shortly after the war he was ordained, worked one year as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

in Oslo, and was appointed by King

Haakon VII of Norway Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...

and the Gerhardsen Cabinet as Bishop of

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

in 1947. In 1953–1954, he took part in the notorious public debate on the existence of

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

, where he strongly criticized a radio-transmitted speech by Professor of Theology

Ole Hallesby Ole Kristian Hallesby (5 August 1879 – 22 November 1961) was a conservative, Norwegian Lutheran theologian, author and educator. Biography Ole Kristian Hallesby was born in Aremark, in Østfold, Norway. Hallesby grew up as the sixth of eight s ...

, in which Hallesby had warned the population that they might go to Hell. Schjelderup was accused of deviating from the faith of the

, but was acquitted by the Ministry of Church and Education. Schjelderup

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

the first female priest in the Church of Norway,

Ingrid Bjerkås Ingrid Bjerkås (8 May 1901 – 30 November 1980) was a Norwegian theologian and the first female minister in the Church of Norway. Early life She was born in Kristiania as a daughter of Olaf Johansen (1874–1958) and Hilda Charlotte Elise Hol ...

, in 1961. He retired as bishop in 1964. He was made a Commander of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

in January the same year.

Publications

*''Religionens sandhet i lys av den relativitetsteoretiske virkelighetsopfatning'' (dissertation) (1921) *''Der mennesker blir guder. Fra mystikernes land i det fjerne Østen'' (1923) *''Hvem Jesus var og hvad kirken har gjort ham til''(1924) *''Religion og religioner'' (1926) *''Ved døren. Meditasjoner'' (1929) *''Die Askese. Eine religionspsychologische Untersuchung'' (1928) *''Religiøse grunnformer i lys av psykologien'' (lecture) (1931) *''Uber drei Haupttypen der religiõsen Erlebnisformen und ihre psychologische Grundlage'' (1932) (with Harald Schjelderup) *''Toleransens og fordragelighetens problem'' – foredrag (1933) *''På vei mot hedenskapet. Trekk ved den tyske religionskamp'' (1935) *''Nansenskolen — Norsk humanistisk akademi'' (1937) (with

Anders Wyller Anders Platou Wyller (24 April 1903 - 2 October 1940) was a Norwegian philologist and humanist. Biography Wyller was born at Stavanger in Rogaland, Norway. He was the son of Thomas Christian Wyller (1858-1921) and Birgitte Platou (1862-1922). His ...

) *''Guds hus i fangeleiren'' (1945) *''Oppgjør med nazismens ideologi'' (lecture) (1945) *''Tiden kaller på kirken'' (1948) *''Den grunn hvorpå jeg bygger'' (1957) *''Veien jeg måtte gå'' (1963) *''Lys i mørket'' (1965) *''Under åpen himmel'' (1969) *''Jeg tror, Herre, hjelp min vantro'' (1973)

Personal life

Career

Publications

References

Further reading