On September 2, the ELCA commermerates Nikolai Grundtvig, also refered to as NFS Grundtvig.
The son of a Lutheran pastor, Nikolai Grundtvig was born in Udby, Denmark in 1783. Though brought up in a religious household and educated in the European Enlightenment tradition, Grundtvig’s views on both education and religion evolved over his lifetime. Through his many writings, he heavily influenced changes in Danish politics, education, and religion.
Grundtvig’s career as a pastor was marked with controversy. When Grundtvig graduated from University of Copenhagen around 1805 with a degree in Theology, he had lost his faith. He worked as a tutor, published several works including a Danish translation of Beowolf. Then, around 1810, Grundtvig experienced a religious reconversion to Lutheranism. He subsequently published a sermon accusing Danish clergy of betraying the true meaning of the Bible. In 1828 he denounced an argument by theologian Henrik Clausen that the Bible was an inadequate expression of the full meaning of Christianity.
Following a trial for libel, the church forbade Grundtvig to preach for seven years. Grundtvig continued to write, publishing theological papers and also hymns. He authored or translated over 1500 hymns. Grundtvig advocated for a distinction between church and state. He specifically advocated to change Danish law to eliminate the permanent attachment of people to a specific parish, so that congregants would be free to move between churches.
Likewise, Grundtvig called for a change from schools centered on religion, Latin, and Greek to those centered on Danish history, literature, and language. For context, the early 1800s were a tough time in Denmark. Denmark allied with France in the Napoleonic Wars, which was disastrous. To begin with, the Danish government went bankrupt in 1813. Then, in 1814 the Treaty of Kiel stripped Norway from the Kingdom and Denmark, handing it to Sweden. These events left Danes questioning their national identity and searching for a revival. Additionally, in the mid-1830s government reforms opened political participation up to the common people both in the form of elections and debates. Many of the rural representatives found themselves inadequately educated to hold their own amongst the nobility and bourgeoisie.
This inspired Grundtvig to write two treatises on education, in which he advocated for the education of everyone, including the farming community, and that this education should be centered on Danish history, civics, literature and language, in order to prepare common people to fully participate in Danish civic society. In time, Grundtvig’s “folk high schools” grew in popularity and contributed to equal participation in society and government. By 1890, folk high school graduates constituted twenty percent of Danish parliament. Grundtvig’s philosophy and teachings impact on Danish society significant enough to receive a name: Grundtvigianism.
In 1872, at the age of 88, Grundtvig died in Hellerup, Denmark. He left behind a legacy that transformed education in Denmark, as well as substantial volumes of hymns, secular poems, and theological texts.
Sources:
- Szelągowska, G. (2019). Lutheran revival and National Education in Denmark: The religious background of N. F. S. Grundtvig’s educational ideas. Scandinavica, 58(1). https://doi.org/10.54432/scand/xpbh7963
- Wikipedia contributors. (2025, April 25). N. F. S. Grundtvig. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:32, September 3, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=N._F._S._Grundtvig&oldid=1287316948
- Wikipedia contributors. (2025, August 23). Treaty of Kiel. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:32, September 3, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Treaty_of_Kiel&oldid=1307393598
- Tayloe, K. R. (2021, March 21). Feast of Nikolai Grundtvig (September 8). SUNDRY THOUGHTS. https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2018/08/07/feast-of-nikolai-grundtvig-september-8/