Hans Nilsen Hauge’s egalitarianism led the way

Photo courtesy of Pati Kachel
Pati Kachel, communication director and primary storyteller for The Parable Fund, offers A Story Portrait of Hans Nielsen Hauge as told through the voice of Sara Oust, Hauge’s first female lay preacher.

Leslee Lane Hoyum
Rockford, Minn.

Most students of Norwegian history and religion are familiar with Hans Nielsen Hauge, the late 18th- and early 19th-century Norwegian lay minister, spiritual leader, entrepreneur, industrialist, social reformer, and author, who is well known for the revival of pietism, called the Haugean movement. But many are unaware of how he encouraged women to become lay preachers and influenced everyday equity between men and women.

On April 22 at Mindekirken’s Tuesday Open House, Pati Kachel, a local storyteller, will portray Sara Oust, Norway’s first female Christian lay preacher. In 1799 at age 21, Oust began evangelizing for the Haugean movement. Scholars often acknowledge that Hauge’s support for women, which persisted through generations of women, influenced the feminist movement in Norway.

In her thesis, The Influence of the Hauge Movement on Women in Norway,” University of Wisconsin student Susanne Soltvedt admits her gut feeling about Hauge as a pietist would skew his views and have a negative effect on Norwegian women. She found quite the opposite. “I thought of him as a dictating patriarch,” Soltvedt said. “I visualized his patriarchy telling women what to do and when to do it and how to do it, and although this did happen, it wasn’t Hauge’s dream. In fact, he taught that women, as well as men, should be allowed a voice in assemblies and men should not frown at or scorn housework. He did not deliver his messages with condescension and superiority but with humility and equality.”

Photo courtesy of Hans Nielsen Hauge Senteret, Rolvsøy, Norway
This is the only known portrait of Hans Nilsen Hauge, which was painted around 1800 in Copenhagen by an unknown artist.

Hauge challenged social mores, especially those surrounding gender roles. He encouraged women to farm and men to participate in traditional housework. He believed in giving jobs to those who were best qualified, whether within the Haugean movement or in business. For example, the Eiker Paper Mill, in which Hauge was heavily involved, is a good example. Of the 50 employed, 21 were women, 12 were youth and some were physically or mentally disabled. In Hauge’s business world, he recognized there was a place for everybody if they were willing to work. Although Hauge died in 1824 and the opportunities for female lay preachers waned, the seeds for gender equality had been planted.

In 1840, women found it impossible to enter into any agreement or debt, and had no control of their own money. They were not entitled to any training and could not be considered for any government job. A woman’s role was to marry and follow her husband, and single women were given guardianships. Fortunately, in 1845, the first legal step toward women’s emancipation provided that women at the age of majority, 25, no longer needed a guardian. Between 1854 and 1879, new laws broke down barriers between the genders. Equality with men became nearly complete in the space of just two generations. By 1884, the Norwegian Association for Women’s Rights was founded, and in 1913, Norway became one of the first European countries to grant universal suffrage to women.

The first wave of Norwegian feminism changed the position of women in marriage by ending their subordination; the next wave fought to obtain the same rights as men. Although there have been a few bumps in the road, women’s rights have played a big part in the Norwegian workforce, politics, literature, arts and everyday lifestyle beginning with Hauge and continuing in 2025.

Marta Breen, a Norwegian nonfiction writer, journalist, and organization leader, wrote a paper entitled A View from Norway: Feminism is History’s Most Successful Revolution. She said, “Why are so many women still afraid of using the word feminist? I find that it’s often due to a misunderstanding. Many people think that feminism is a gender struggle, that one side will win and the other is destined to lose. But that’s completely wrong. The truth is we all win in a more equal society.”

Although women’s rights in Norway continue to advance, it is no longer seen as part of the Christian Haugean movement but rather as secular. However, during her interviews with women in Norway and the United States, Soltvedt’s findings told her that “Hauge’s influence silently continues on and on.” She found that her interviewees were totally unaware of the pietistic significance of their responses, whether the women were religious, agnostic, or atheist. “It becomes obvious that followers of the Haugean movement influenced women in today’s Norway and abroad,“ she said.

Although business was a large part of Hauge’s life, he was ever faithful to his calling from God. Everywhere he went from southern Norway to the north, he preached the word of God. His religious convictions created his legacy, much more than his entrepreneurship, teaching and book authorships. Part of his ill-famed reputation was affected by the Conventicle Act of 1741, which was a law prohibiting religious gatherings outside the state church, unless a pastor from the state church was in attendance. Hauge always advised local pastors of his assemblies. Unfortunately, it was determined he disobeyed the act and combined with other charges, Hauge found himself imprisoned several times totaling nine years.

You’re invited to learn more about Hans Nilsen Hauge’s fascinating story, as told through the voice of Pati Kachel interpreting Sara Oust’s experiences. To make a reservation, go to https://www.mindekirken.org/tuesday-open-house.

This article originally appeared in the April 2025 issue of The Norwegian American.