Baptism in Times of Change
Exploring New Patterns of Baptismal Theologies and Practices in Nordic Lutheran Churches
- Theology
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2025
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Publisher's Description
What happened to baptism in Nordic countries? Traditionally, most newborns were baptized into the Lutheran majority churches. The rapid decline of this practice in recent decades has sparked reflection on the church's role in society and on the cultural and theological meaning of baptism in a secularized society. The decline of infant baptism has made way for new practices and ecclesial strategies. This book analyzes these developments from historical, social scientific, and theological perspectives, comparing material from the five Nordic Lutheran folk churches. The essays gathered here provide an extensive overview of research and resources connected to baptism in the Nordic folk churches over the last two decades, but they also contribute constructive theological reflection on baptism's wider implications. This anthology emerged from the larger joint Nordic project Baptism in Times of Change, conducted between 2020 and 2022. The project was part of the joint Nordic initiative Churches in Times of Change, focusing on changes in ecclesial practice and theology in the Nordic region.
Endorsements (2)
“Baptism in Times of Change demonstrates that the baptismal ritual—its transformation, tradition, or decline—impacts our most foundational understandings of grace, human agency, community belonging, and even our ecological connection to the sacred waters of the earth. This international collaboration engages ritual, empirical, cultural, historical, and liturgical studies, ecology, pluralism, and systematic theology. It has global importance for examining the deep meaning and metamorphosis of our most basic sacramental practices for a new era.”
“In the Lutheran majority churches in the Nordic countries baptism has defined their community, even in times of rapidly declining participation. Yet even this social construct is on the decline, as fewer people have their children baptized. In this valuable resource, theologians and church leaders, representing the Nordic churches, came together to examine the contemporary trends and to suggest new and innovative approaches to the practice of baptism within their church bodies. A very thoughtful volume.”
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