Constructing “Mad” Religious Experiences in Early Modern Sweden

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter discusses the process of constructing religious experiences as pathological and ‘mad’ in early modern Sweden, during an era of great religious plurality but also strict Lutheran orthodoxy. By using two case studies of envisioned angelic encounters from early 18th century as examples, it shows the participation of several actors and discursive authorities in shaping and negotiating personal spiritual experiences. Medicalization of deviant religious experiences was one way of controlling faith and upholding the discursive hegemony of the Swedish Lutheran state Church over religion. The focus is on the process-nature of experiencing and the power dynamics in play in invalidating norm-breaching experiences.