From the Will of God to the Will of Hauge: Institutionalization of Beliefs and Practices in the Norwegian Haugian Movement

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article traces the informal institutionalization of the Norwegian Haugian revival during the first decades of the nineteenth century. The revival was the first nationwide popular movement in Norway and flourished in the footsteps of its protagonist Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771–1824). Lay preaching in religious assemblies was a core activity among the Haugians from the inception of the revival. As part of the institutionalization process, beliefs and practices related to lay ministry were both established and adapted. Although the institutionalization involved a significant break with previous teaching and practice, the Haugians themselves saw the adaptation of beliefs and practices mainly as a story of continuity, maintaining that the revival essentially remained the same. I argue that acknowledging both the changes in beliefs and practices, on the one hand, and the Haugians’ claim to remaining the same, on the other hand, are key to understanding the development of the revival.