Saga - 1981, Page 275

TRÚARLEGAR HREYFINGAR
273
SUMMARY
In the countries of North and West Europe there was an increase in the activities
of independent organizations within the state and national churches which had
close connections with the so-called revivalist movements. These movements acted
as a counterforce against the dwindling influence of the church and Christianity
and the rise of movements and ideas that undermined the faith of the general
Public in the teachings of the church. The Danish Domestic Mission was such a
movement, and it became very strong within the Danish church in the second half
of the 19th century. In Iceland it only gained a foothold in the form of the
Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A., while in Denmark these youth organizations were virtu-
ally the youth bodies of the Domestic Mission. The person who brought Y.M.C.A.
to Iceland and planted this movement in Reykjavík was one of those Icelandic
students in Copenhagen who had given up his studies there and entered the School
of Theology in Reykjavík. He had become familiar with the vigorous activities of
the Y.M.C.A. in Copenhagen and got personally acquainted with its leaders and
he had intimate knowledge of the very special spirit that characterized the missi-
onary methods these leaders had shaped on the basis of the living conditions of
Copenhagen youth.
Friðrik Friðriksson had the knack of getting across to Reykjavík youth and ini-
tially he was supported by the leaders of the church. Of prime importance, how-
ever, was the support of the Y.M.C.A. leaders in Copenhagen and financial aid
from the Youth Committee of Danish Domestic Mission. Missionary work within
the Y.M.C.A. was unique in that it actually urged towards tasks and activities
which thus gained a religious value for its members. It did not adopt a negative
stance towards city life in general, but only attacked those special dangers and
temptations that life in the city involved for young people. In one newspaper
hf'ðrik is called “the moral reformer of youth” which is an apt description as the
Y-M.C.A. encouraged and offered possibilities for leisure and social activities that
Were supposed to act against those aspects of Reykjavík life that were considered
negative and corrupting.
An attempt was made in Húnavatnssýsla, a rural area in Northern Iceland, to
establish Christian youth organizations, but this attempt showed that social
eondition in rural Iceland did not offer a base for such activities. The Y.M.C.A.
m Reykjavík gained extensive popularity and reached more than half of all boys
ar°und and under confirmation age. Seamen and artisans were the most numerous
Sfoups and they formed special sections and held separate meetings. Initially the
°rganization enjoyed the respect and goodwill of the citizens and the authorities
Were helpful. The morally improving effect on the youngsters were appreciated by
Parents and employers, as the great majority of the boys in the main section of the
ass°ciation were active participants in the city’s economic life. As the first decade
°f the present century neared its end, however, a part of the city’s upper class be-
8an to look askance at the theological policy that prevailed in the association, “the
d theology”, and many officials did not want their children to have their religion
|eeted by the association. This was at a time when spiritism and theosophy were
>ning ground in the upper class in Reykjavík. Friðrik Friðriksson and many of
s c°Heagues in Christian activities in Reykjavík were active in the temperance