The Strong Believers (

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

: ) is a theologically conservative Norwegian Christian movement, with roots in the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

, in opposition to the

Haugean movement The Haugean movement or Haugeanism ( no, haugianere) was a Pietistic state church reform movement intended to bring new life and vitality into the Church of Norway which had been often characterized by formalism and lethargy. The movement emphas ...

. They split from the Church of Norway in 1890.

Founding and beliefs

The Strong Believers started in

Rogaland Rogaland () is a county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 479,892. The admin ...

, Norway, in the mid-1800s and were led by lay preacher

Knud Spødervold Knud Kittelsen Spødervold (24 July 1791 – 20 March 1848) was a Norwegian author and lay preacher and leader of the Strong Believers (), a theologically conservative Norwegian Christian movement in opposition to the Haugean movement, with roots ...

(1791–1848), the son of a farmer from

Bjerkreim Bjerkreim is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Dalane. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vikes ...

. In 1848 he published a book called ('The Dispensation of God's Grace'), in which he outlined his views and his interpretation of the Bible. Spødervold criticized

Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and ...

revival preacher

Hans Nielsen Hauge Hans Nielsen Hauge (3 April 1771 – 29 March 1824) was a 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran lay minister, spiritual leader, business entrepreneur, social reformer and author. He led a noted Pietism revival known as the Haugean movement. Hauge is als ...

for being too concerned with the importance of

works Works may refer to: People * Caddy Works (1896–1982), American college sports coach * Samuel Works (c. 1781–1868), New York politician Albums * '' ''Works'' (Pink Floyd album)'', a Pink Floyd album from 1983 * ''Works'', a Gary Burton album ...

. Spødervold emphasized faith and

justification Justification may refer to: * Justification (epistemology), a property of beliefs that a person has good reasons for holding * Justification (jurisprudence), defence in a prosecution for a criminal offenses * Justification (theology), God's act of ...

instead of repentance and

sanctification Sanctification (or in its verb form, sanctify) literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred (compare la, sanctus). Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. ...

. He claimed that "it is impossible for a child of God to fall out of their state of grace". Strong Believers have been described as strict, as well as exclusionary towards outsiders. They do not participate in any ecumenical Christian gatherings. Strong Believers adhere to older church customs and hymns, such as Danish hymnwriter

Thomas Kingo Thomas Hansen Kingo (15 December 1634 – 14 October 1703 Odense) was a Danish bishop, poet and hymn-writer born at Slangerup, near Copenhagen. His work marked the high point of Danish baroque poetry. His father was a weaver of modest mea ...

's 1699 hymnal. Unlike other Christian groups in the area, they have historically had a lenient approach towards alcohol, with founders known to drink alcohol while preaching.

Branches

The movement initially consisted of four branches, one of which – ('The Old Lutheran Community') – later returned to the state church in 1958 after splitting off in 1925. The movement still exists in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, f ...

and in the

Egersund Egersund is a town in Eigersund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is located along the southwestern coast of Norway, about south of the city of Stavanger. The town is situated along a strait which separates the mainland from t ...

area under the official name (The Community) in three branches. One branch is called

The Community (Samfundet) The Community () is a Christian denomination with historical and theological roots in the Lutheran tradition. The church has congregations located in the south-western part of Norway. The Community broke off from the Church of Norway in 1890 due ...

, or ''s'', after its leader in the 1880s,

Bernt B. Lomeland Bernt Berntsen Lomeland (1836 – 1900) was a Norwegian school teacher and lay minister who established The Community (Samfundet) in 1890. Biography Born to a farmer in Helleland, outside Egersund, Norway, he was confirmed on 29 September 1850 ...

. Another branch is Det Almindelige Samfund ('The Catholic Community', ''

catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

'' here in the sense of 'universal') or after Per Gravdal, founded in 1901. The third group, Det Almindelige Lutherske Samfund ('The Catholic Lutheran Community', again in the sense of 'universal') or after founder Abraham Larsen, started in 1952 after a split from .

References

{{Authority control Lutheranism in Norway Lutheran denominations established in the 19th century