The Tolerance Act () was a Swedish law, enacted by

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he s ...

24 January 1781. It guaranteed freedom of religion and full citizen rights for all Christian immigrants and foreign residents in Sweden.

Background

Since the

Uppsala Synod The Uppsala Synod in 1593 was the most important synod of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. Sweden had gone through its Protestant Reformation and broken with Roman Catholicism in the 1520s, but an official confession of faith had never been dec ...

of 1593, Lutheranism had officially been the only religion allowed in Sweden, though the foreign embassies were given dispensation, as well as other foreigners temporarily residing in the country. The Tolerance Act was introduced in line with the ideals of the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

. There was also an economic motivation, namely, that religious toleration would make it easier for foreigners to work in Sweden. This was the point of view of

Anders Chydenius Anders Chydenius (; 26 February 1729 – 1 February 1803) was a Swedish-Finnish Lutheran priest and a member of the Swedish Riksdag, and is known as the leading classical liberal of Nordic history. He carried out his life's work in the Kingdom ...

when he presented his motion on the issue at the 1779

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

. "Touched by the misfortunes of my fellow citizens and sensitive to the growth and strength of my native country, I have expressed my thoughts," he said. "The prejudices that seek to exterminate villagers by force of conscience and persecution are, thank God, long since dispelled." According to Chydenius, freedom of religion did not have to pose a threat to the Lutheran faith. He cited several examples that would have a reassuring effect: "Denmark is not Jewish, even though these unfortunate people there live in peace and visit their synagogues in public." The clergy rejected the proposal at 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 ...

, but the issue was settled by the approval of the other three estates. According to the act, Christian immigrants were to have free and unrestricted religious practice and civil, but not full political, rights. They were also guaranteed the right to bring up their children in their faith. However, the immigrants were denied access to state offices and parliamentary rights. Nor were they allowed to hold public processions, establish public schools or monasteries, or engage in any kind of

proselytizing Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Carrying out attempts to instill beliefs can be called proselytization. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between Chris ...

. No monks were allowed to enter the country, "of whatever religion or sect they may be". Anyone who insulted the worship of foreigners or blasphemed their doctrines and practices was to be punished with a fine. If the priests of the state church were called upon to visit ill immigrants, they were not allowed to trouble their consciences with religious disputes and controversies. The new law earned Gustav III a letter of thanksgiving from

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

, and the king responded by expressing his joy at having won the approval of such an enlightened ruler. The act was followed in 1782 by the ''

Judereglementet (English: 'The Jewish Regulations') was a 1782 Swedish statute containing regulations "for those of the Jewish Nation wishing to move to and settle in the Kingdom (of Sweden)" without having to convert to Lutheranism, as the law had stipulated ...

'' ('The Jewish Regulations'), which guaranteed freedom of religion specifically for Jewish immigrants. This legislation was a step toward full freedom of religion in Sweden. However, it only applied to immigrants and foreigners, while the Lutheran Swedish citizens were still restricted in their practice of religion by the Conventicle Act (). The Tolerance Act was replaced by the Dissenter Acts from 1860 and 1873, which made it legal for a Swedish citizen to leave the established Lutheran church and join another officially recognised denomination, but conversion to one of the so-called foreign religious communities was still hedged about by strong restrictions. Similar reforms were made elsewhere in Enlightenment Europe, such as the

Patent of Toleration The Patent of Toleration (, ) was an edict of toleration issued on 13 October 1781 by the Habsburg emperor Joseph II. Part of the Josephinist reforms, the Patent extended religious freedom to non-Catholic Christians living in the crown lands ...

in 1781 in Joseph II's Austria, and were a fundamental idea in the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

. However, the

Declaration of Indulgence Declaration of Indulgence may refer to: * Declaration of Indulgence (1672) by Charles II of England in favour of nonconformists and Catholics * Declaration of Indulgence (1687) by James II of England granting religious freedom See also *Indulgence ...

in 1672 and the Toleration Act in 1689 in England had a different background. The Conventicle Act remained in place for native Swedes until 1858, which completely restricted their freedom of worship outside of that of the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

, whose status was regulated by law as a state church. The final act was the law of 1951, which allowed for complete freedom of conscience by allowing citizens to renounce or abandon one religious confession without replacing it with another, thereby formally also legalizing

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

References

Notes

Sources

* * * {{Catholic Church in Sweden 1781 in Sweden 1858 in Sweden 18th century in Sweden 19th century in Sweden Freedom of religion Christianity and law in the 18th century 1781 in Christianity