The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark and the Multicultural Challenges

Hans Morten Haugen
2011 Politics and Religion  
Christianity and Danishness are mutually reinforcing phenomena in Denmark. Three factors applying specifically to Denmark explain this: first, the lack of national representative bodies of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark; second, the journal Tidehverv ("New Era") has nurtured a conservative and nationalistic Christian ethics among parts of the Danish clergy; and third, Danish politicians' abuse of the links between Christianity and Danishness as a tool in their anti-immigration
more » ... gies. Denmark has seen a relatively high level of conflict in the last few years in the encounter between "old" and "new" Danes. A conversation about strategies to encounter this situation must be inclusive and include the religious factor, as religion can be a source of exclusion. As examples of this, see the following quotes by two Muslims on the Danish situation: The media contribute to an "ascribed" identity, building on prototypes to construct a typical Muslim. The tendency of the media is to present the "Muslim" as a contrast to the "Danish," hence excluding Muslims from the Danish community. Religious and national categories are mixed, by talking about Muslims and Danes, not Muslims and Christians (Mustafa Hussain, in Leirvik 2000).
doi:10.1017/s1755048311000447 fatcat:q2qcqdgqofha7btg2u2f7bukwy