Haugeans

Haugeans (Haugeanere). Hans Nielsen Hauge was born in Norway April 3, 1771. He had strong religious impressions in youth, which produced a gloomy state of mind. But in 1795 he passed through a change which filled him with joy. Ever after, amid all vicissitudes, he was a cheerful Christian. He soon began to preach, and made a powerful impression on the public mind. He traveled extensively in Norway and Denmark, wrote many tracts, and in 1804 established a printing office in Christians and to disseminate his sentiments. He obtained many followers, but finally, through the influence of the clergy, was punished with a heavy fine and imprisonment. After this he lived in retirement till his death in 1824. In doctrine, Hauge differed from evangelical Protestants in general in but few points: e.g. he held that the ministry is a common duty, and that specially ordained and separated ministers are unnecessary: also that Church creeds and Confessions are of no great account. He properly placed great stress upon faith and its effects, but it was in a one-sided way. Nevertheless, his labors contributed largely to the revival of evangelical religion. The party called Haugeans is still numerous in Norway: they contend against the laxness of Church discipline and against Rationalism, and have much influence with the people. See Hase, Church Hist. p. 547; Gregoire, Hist. des Sectes Relig. s.v.; Staudlin and Tschirner, Archiv. f. Kirchengeschichte, 2, 354; Hagenbach, Hist. of the Church in 18th and 19th Centuries, transl. by Hurst, 2, 389; Stud. u. Kritiken, 1849, p. 749 sq.