(literally: 'church duty') was a historical form of punishment, practiced in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It was a form of

public humiliation Public humiliation or public shaming is a form of punishment whose main feature is dishonoring or disgracing a person, usually an offender or a prisoner, especially in a public place. It was regularly used as a form of judicially sanctioned puni ...

in which the condemned was made to confess and

repent Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past or present wrongdoings, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen ...

of their crime before being rehabilitated and spared further punishments. It could be sentenced by the church or by a secular court, and performed by the church. The concept of "church duty" thus does not have anything to do with an obligation to go to church, in spite of the name ''(

kyrkogångsplikt (literally 'church attendance duty') was the legal obligation of the population in Sweden to attend weekly mass. The obligation to attend church was abolished in Sweden with the 1809 Instrument of Government, but continued in Finland for some tim ...

'', literally 'church attendance obligation').

History

The originated from the

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

and

repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past or present wrongdoings, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen ...

within the Catholic church during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

: after having committed a more serious crime, the criminal was cast out of their parish congregation, and was only rehabilitated after having repented of their sin. In the

Swedish Church Ordinance 1571 The Swedish Church Ordinance of 1571 was the first complete Swedish church order following the Swedish Reformation in the 1520s. The main originator of the ordinance was archbishop Laurentius Petri. Petri, archbishop since 1531, had published man ...

, consisted of the corporal punishments meted out within the sphere of

, such as

pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, used during the medieval and renaissance periods for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. ...

ing, the

stocks Stocks are feet and hand restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law de ...

corporal punishment A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...

and similar punishments, or fines. Finally, the condemned were made to stand upon the ('duty stool') – also called the ('shame stool') – during a church sermon, when their crimes were described, after which they repented and were rehabilitated, in many cases after having been subjected to other form of punishments. The punishment could be meted out by both the church as well as by a secular court, who both had the right to handle criminals. By the

Swedish Church Law 1686 The Swedish Church Law 1686 () was a Swedish law which (with some alterations) regulated the relationship between the state and the church in Sweden from 1686 until the Swedish Church Law 1992, as well as in Finland (earlier a Swedish province) u ...

, the church was no longer allowed to handle court cases and judge criminals and the right to sentence criminals to was reserved for the legal courts of the state. In 1741, a legal reform created two forms of : () and (). On 4 May 1855, and all forms of

were abolished in Sweden. In Finland, the same reform was introduced in 1864.

''Uppenbar kyrkoplikt''

(literally: 'obvious church duty') was the original form of . was meted out for all forms of criminalized acts: theft, adultery, abuse, witchcraft and those pardoned from the death sentence. By the reform of 1741, was abolished for sex outside of marriage. All sexual acts outside of marriage were formally illegal, but as an illegal sexual act was normally only exposed when it resulted in pregnancy, and the male party could deny having engaged in the act while the participation of the pregnant female in the act was undeniable; was in practice mostly used upon unmarried mothers. This was viewed as a problem in the

Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates (; informally ) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King. It was a Diet made up of the Fou ...

, because the social stigma caused by 's way of exposing the women, who felt themselves socially branded, was found to be a significant cause of

infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...

performed by unmarried women desperate to do anything to avoid having their reputation ruined by the shame. Despite opposition from the clergy, was abolished for sexual crimes in an attempt to prevent infanticide.Ohlander, Ann-Sofie, Kärlek, död och frihet: historiska uppsatser om människovärde och livsvillkor i Sverige, Norstedt, Stockholm, 1985 This reform was followed by the '' Barnamordsplakatet'' in 1778.

''Enskild kyrkoplikt''

(literally: 'private church duty') meant that the criminal was made to confess and repent in the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

, before or after service, in private before the priest and only a handful of witnesses selected by the priest. This was used for the crime of sex outside of marriage, as well as minor crimes such as insignificant forms of theft.

References

{{Reflist * Nordisk familjebok / 1800-talsutgåvan. 9. Kristendomen - Lloyd * Carlquist, Gunnar, red (1933). Svensk uppslagsbok. Bd 16. Malmö: Svensk Uppslagsbok AB. Sid. 496 Punishments Social history of Sweden Social history of Finland Legal history of Sweden 1571 in Sweden 1686 in Sweden 1741 in Sweden 1855 in Sweden 1864 in Finland Religion and politics Criminal law