The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

164 SCANDINAVIA.The Swedish Church and Universities.The Lutheran is the State religion, and according to the census returns, whichnaturally include the indifferent amongst the faithful, nearly the whole Swedishnation belongs to this worship. But within the Church itself there are greatdifferences. The members of certain Norrland communities, carried away byreligious fervour, include dancing in their programme, jumping and whirlingabout till they are breathless.The Protestant Nonconformists amount to no morethan a few thousands, and the Jews, excluded from the kingdom down to the year1810, have not yet had time to found large communities in the commercial towns.Roman Catholics are fewer still, and only since 1870 have public offices been thrownopen to all Swedish citizens, irrespective of their religious belief.The power of the Established Church is still very considerable, althoughassailed from two opposite quarters by freethinkers and zealous Dissenters.Through its pastors and consistories it takes a large share in the local administration,and it keeps all the civil registers except those of the capital. Formembers of the Church marriage solemnised by the pastor is alone valid, civilunions being tolerated only when one of the contracting parties is a Jew, orbelongs to some recognised form of Dissent ; but even in this case the marriagecan be legally celebrated only after the banns have been thrice put up in theLutheran Church.The primary schools also are placed under the direct control of the pastors andConsistories, who see- that Luther's catechism is duly taught, that the pious practicesare kept up, and all the children regularly " confirmed." Moreover, the Church,like the nation, has its deliberative assemblies. A Synod was held in 1863 in orderto obtain the clergy's assent to a change of the constitution which ' aimed atsuppressing that body as a distinct section of the Diet.This assembly is composedof 60 members, 30 lay and 30 ecclesiastic, amongst whom are all the bishops of therealm, with the Archbishop as ex-officio President of the Synod. The country isdivided into twelve dioceses, to which may be added the Stockholm Consistory, inreality independent of the archiepiscopal see of Upsala. The dioceses are subdividedinto deaneries, pastorates, and parishes, these last numbering about 2,500.The two Universities of Upsala and Lund have an independent status, constitutingthem distinct bodies in the State. Still they depend officially on theChurch, the Archbishop of Upsala being Vice-Chancellor of the former, andthe Bishop of Lund of the latter. In both the student is bound to form part ofa "nation," those of Upsala numbering thirteen, named generally after the oldhistorical provinces, besides three for Stockholm, Goteborg, and Kalmar.Each ofthese groups forms a little self-governing republic, enjoying special privileges,and possessing considerable property and capital, whose revenues are chieflyapplied to the support of poor students. They have large halls for the generalassemblies and celebrations, libraries, and lecture-rooms. Some are even owners ofcountry seats. Nor is their autonomy limited to the control of their property, andto their respective " nations " the students must apply for their certificates, and in