Unitarian baptism and Norwegian law

Left: The baptismal fount in Nora Unitarian Free Church (Minnesota) where Kristofer Janson served as pastor up to 1893.

When the first Unitarian church was founded in Norway in 1895 the congregation tried hard to benefit from the same law that protected Christians not part of the Statechurch (Methodists, Catholics, Baptists, Quakers, Free Christian churches, etc, there were a few). The Government turned the Unitarian church down but said it could be protected by law as the Jewish religion is protected by Norwegian law. The reason for this was that the Government agreed that Unitarian Christendom is not Christendom at all. Then the Government declared on August 31, 1897 and January 30, 1925 that "Baptism carried out by Mormons and Unitarians is not to be accepted as Christian baptism". This is repeated in 1957 in a famous book on Norwegian Church Law.

From the church records of the first Norwegian Unitarian church (1895-1937) we see that despite Norwegian law, 39 children were baptized (24 boys and 15 girls (most as infants but also some at age 14 prior to their Confirmation seremony)). We also know of 3 children baptised by Unitarian pastor Haugerud in the town Skien in the summer 1906 or 1907.

Thingvalla

In April 1880 21 years old Hans Tambs Lyche emigrated to the USA on the ship Thingvalla (photo probably from 1888). 12 years later he would return to Norway and among other things publish the first Norwegian Unitarian periodical Frie Ord ("Free Words"). In America he married Mary Rebecca Godden and they both worked as US Unitarian ministers for several years.

A Unitarian Christmas greeting from 1894.

The very first official Unitarian Christmas greeting in Norway was published by Hans Tambs Lyche in his periodical Free Words on December 15 1894. The message goes something like this:

On earth peace and good will toward men

was according to the legend the song the angles used to welcome the birth of Jesus. A better motto or a better beginning of the Christian gospel – the religion of peace and love – was hardly possible to find. Free Words adopts these words and forwards them as its Christmas greeting . Wherever this song becomes part of peoples everyday life and provides it with shape and content, at that place one is “not far from the Kingdom of God”.

There is heavenly pleasure just in simple, straightforward, natural, good will toward men. If we just would have only that much practical and true Christedom widespread among us, then we would have come far.

The first Universalist and the number of Unitarians 1900

From the 1900 Census we see that the first and only Universalist in Norway was Ove Lindved Westergaard and in 1900 he worked as an English teacher in the city Halden (Oestfold county).

The same year there was 106 Unitarians living in Norway. The majority in Olso (then Kristiania). 30 years later the number was 69 and only 17 in 1950. Between 1950 and 1980 no figures are available. To day we find 37 Unitarians in Norway and about 3 Unitarian Universalists. These 3 are not connected to Ove but Americans settled in Norway or living here temporary.