The Religious Aspects of Swedish Immigration: A Study of Immigrant Churches

The Religious Aspects of Swedish Immigration was first published in 1932. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.

The scope of this book is much wider than the title might indicate. Community life, the development of educational institutions, the process of assimilation, journalism, cultural strivings, distribution of settlements, politics, the immigrant pastor, proselytizing of rival churches, nationalistic traits, and other factors that influenced Swedish immigration and religious polity are considered. The emphasis, however, is on the influence of religious movements on Swedish immigration and the religious development of the Swedish- Americans and their descendants. For the first time the author does for the Swedish element in our history what has been done so adequately for the English Puritan element: he weaves together and correlates religious conditions in Sweden and in the United States. The method of presentation should attract readers interested in a typical chapter in the making of the American nation.

Professor Stephenson is author of A History of American Immigration and spent a year in Sweden as a fellow of the American-Scandinavian Foundation. Professor Lawrence M. Larson of the University of Illinois writes: The manuscript proved so interesting that I read every page. The author has done an unusually good piece of work. I do not believe the story of immigration can be told without a study of church history.