Lutheranism and the Nordic spirit of social democracy : a different Protestant ethic / Robert H. Nelson.

Includes bibliographies and index.

"One man's way of thinking about God has decisively shaped the political and economic rise of Nordic social democracy. 500 years ago, Martin Luther's writings led to the Reformation in the Nordic countries, and his values and beliefs shaped more than just the church. Lutheranism is one of the most important influences on the Nordic welfare system and a general belief in social democracy. Indeed, Nordic social democracy itself can be seen as a modern form of religion, or "secular Lutheranism". In Lutheranism and the Nordic Spirit of Social Democracy, Robert Nelson, an American observer and professor of political economy at the University of Maryland, brings a fresh perspective to the interrelated questions of religion, national identity, and governance in the Nordic world. Exploring how Lutheranism never went away as the true path to a new heaven on earth, Nelson shows how the form of Lutheran Nordic religion and culture changed radically, while its substance remained surprisingly unaltered." --

Cover; Title page; Colophon; Table of Contents; Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgments; Two Protestant Ethics; Lutheranism and the World of Nordic Social Democracy; Rethinking the Lutheran Roots of Nordic Social Democracy; Setting the Stage: From the Vikings to Lutheranism; Martin Luther: German Political Revolutionary; Lutheran Theocracies of the North; The Lutheran Ethic and the Spirit of Social Democracy; Luther and the Equality of Women; A "Second Reformation"; From Lutheran God to Economic God; Nordic Paths to Modernity: Four Variations on a Theme

Temperance and Eugenics: Less Happy "Scientific" OutcomesImplicit Lutheranism: The Religion of Nordic Social Democracy; Since 1980: The Nordic Crisis of Social Democracy; Bibliography; Index

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