Tolerance Act (Sweden)

The Tolerance Act (Swedish: Toleransediktet) was a Swedish law, enacted by Gustav III of Sweden 24 January 1781. It guaranteed freedom of religion and full citizen rights for all Christian immigrants and foreign residents in Sweden.

Since the Uppsala Synod of 1593, Lutheranism had officially been the only religion allowed in Sweden, though the foreign embassies were given dispensation, as well as other foreigners temporarily residing in the country. The Tolerance Act was introduced in line with the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment. There was also an economic motivation, namely, that religious toleration would make it easier for foreigners to work in Sweden. By the Act, all Christian immigrants were granted full freedom of religion and it also guaranteed their right to bring up their children in their faith. This act was followed in 1782 by the Judereglementet (The Jew's Law), which guaranteed freedom of religion specifically for Jewish immigrants. This legislation was a step toward full freedom of religion in Sweden. However, it only applied to immigrants and foreigners, while the Lutheran Swedish citizens were still restricted in their practice of religion by the konventikelplakatet.

The Tolerance Act was replaced by the Dissenter Acts from 1860 and 1873, which made it legal for a Swedish citizen to leave the established Lutheran church and join another officially recognised denomination, but conversion to one of the so-called foreign religious communities was still hedged about by strong restrictions.

The final act was the law of 1951, which allowed for complete freedom of conscience by allowing citizens to renounce or abandon one religious confession without replacing it with another, thereby formally also derestricting atheism.

References

• Nordisk familjebok, 1904–1926.