Normsystemer i konflikt

Abstract

Around 1840, several theologians and clergy in Norway claimed that state laws and legal practice were, on several counts, inconsistent with biblical and theological norms. This related particularly to marriage law and the question of divorce and remarriage, and also to some points of criminal law. State legislation and legal practice was pitted against the state’s obligation as a Christian state. Several clergymen criticized the government for not living up to this commitment, and proposed various solutions. The dispute over divorce and remarriage was perceived as a threat to the Christian state, and had one of the greatest impacts on the relationship between church and state in the middle of the 1800s.

Keywords

• the Christian state
• church discipline and criminal law
• conflicting norms
• marriage law
• divorced remarriage
• den kristelige stat