Haugeans, Rappites, and the Emigration of 1825

Abstract

by INGRID SEMMINGSEN translated by C.A. CLAUSEN i Haugeans, Rappites, and the Emigration of 1S25 In movement its origin bore and the later impress development of its the founder Haugean and movement bore the impress of its founder and leader, Hans Nielsen Hauge (1772-1824), a farmer's son from Tune in 0stfold, on the east side of the Oslo fjord, who worked as a lay preacher at a time when such activity was forbidden by law. The Conventicle Act of 1741 decreed that religious gatherings, conventicles, could be held only under the supervision of the pastor and preferably in his actual presence. According to the prevailing view the pastor was the only person who, through proper studies, could correctly interpret the teachings of the Lutheran State Church. He was the mediator between God and man who had the sole right to administer the sacraments, and as a public official he was accountable to the state for the Christian indoctrination of his flock. As the result of a visionary experience, Hauge came to feel that he had a divine call which made it mandatory for him to break this law and proclaim the word of God directly among his fellowmen. In his interpretation of the Gospel there were obvious elements of North European eighteenth-century pietism. He felt that people had to be awakened to a consciousness of their sins be3 Ingrid Semmingsen fore they could begin to gain salvation through the grace of God. Hauge's religious teachings were therefore also attacks on the rationalism of the state church and its ministers. According to Hauge's views, they doled out stones instead of bread and failed miserably to provide their parishioners with the one thing needful - the word of God pure and undefiled, and, above everything else, a personal religious experience. Despite these pietistic elements, Hauge did not turn his back on the practical problems of society. Quite the contrary. As the Norwegian historian Halvdan Koht has pointed out, a battle was always being waged in Hauge's soul between two apparently conflicting views: in the first place, the need of a personal conversion and the abandonment of a sinful life; and second, his bent toward productive activity. He was a consistent advocate of diligence and hard work. Sloth and sluggishness were a sin in his eyes. His followers were urged "to be good stewards of earthly goods." This view reflected the existence of class conflict and social ambition. Hauge had perceived that the "worldly-minded" had secured power by controlling economic enterprises - and he was specific: " . . .as for instance commerce, and other large industrial undertakings." Hauge felt that society could be reformed if truly spiritual people entered such activities. Nor was he a stranger to the idea that if various economic undertakings prospered for him and his followers then this was a sign of divine blessing - but at the same time he was aware of the danger of being ensnared by the sinful world. Eternal vigilance was therefore of the essence. In this view the Haugeans were at one with the early Puritans of New England. During the years 1796-1804, when he was permitted to work more or less freely between brief periods of imprisonment, Hauge managed to inspire a movement 4 EMIGRATION OF 1825 which encompassed most of Norway. Through his many journeys, often afoot but also by boat along the coast, he won numerous followers - practically all of them rural people or people of rural origin who lived in towns or villages and earned their livelihood as craftsmen or petty traders. There were Haugean groups of various sizes in the small Norwegian cities, especially those on the coast such as Stavanger, Bergen, and Trondheim.1 Through his travels, but also through an extensive correspondence and his printed works - which he sold or gave away - Hauge became the active center in a network of personal and informal contacts. Some of Hauge's letters were addressed to "my beloved fellow believers" or to "my dearly beloved brothers and sisters in Christ and those who are called to become such," without any definite address. They were to circulate from one group to another. Other letters were specified...