Liberal theology and anti-Catholicism in Sweden

Anti-Catholicism is a phenomenon as old as the Protestant church, and tales of scheming popes and treacherous Jesuits have historically formed an important part of Scandinavian culture. But whereas topics such as anti-Semitism in recent years have had increased attention from scholars, the Scandinavian history of anti-Catholicism has been notable for its continued neglect. True, there are several studies on Catholicism in the Nordic countries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but they generally focus on Catholic missionary and pastoral activities, theological controversies, or reactions to specific Catholic activities, not on anti-Catholicism. This chapter seeks to begin to fill this gap by offering a case study of Sweden in the first half of the twentieth century located in the wider Scandinavian context.