Porsnäsväckelsens utveckling under åren 1805–1830 Sekten och ledaren

Abstract

This thesis takes its starting point in the early 19th century in a religious awakening in northern Sweden, more specifically in the village of Porsnäs and the so-called Porsnäsväckelsen (Porsnäs awakening). The founder of the awakening, Pehr Brandell, distanced himself from the movement later on. In a letter he calls the movement a sect. I have examined the evolution of Porsnäsväckelsen between the years 1805–1830 and compared its expression with the literature's description of a sect. How did the awakening movement progress, can it be compared to literature descriptions of a sect, how did Brandell's personal theology develop, and is there any explanation therein why Brandell distanced himself from the movement? And then there is a final question, which is often associated with sects, about the charismatic leader. Is it possible to compare Pehr Brandell to a charismatic leader as these are described in the literature I have worked with? I have discovered elements of sect-like and separatistic tendencies in Porsnäsväckelsen, but for that matter it cannot be fully compared to a sect as sects are described in sociological literature. Pehr Brandell is described as a leader from several different perspectives, partly as the leader of a group of friends and then later as the leader of Porsnäsväckelsen. He is described as a natural and eloquent leader and later on also a priest, but he did not have the qualities that sociological literature says a charismatic leader should have. The hypothesis I put forward at the beginning must therefore be rejected. Porsnäsväckelsen was not a sect, and Pehr Brandell was not a charismatic leader (of a sect), not as these are described within sociological theories.