Kim Aaes, ecclesiastical spokesperson for the ruling Social Democratic Party, claimed to broadcaster DR that the Lutheran state church forms “a core pillar of Danish democracy.” Aaes warned that once baptisms fall below the halfway mark, the church’s foundations as a so-called “people’s church” begin to crumble. He called for more direct political involvement in religious affairs and urged the church to study the tactics of smaller fundamentalist protestant sects supposedly more adept at proselytizing youth.

Carl Andersen of the far-right libertarian Liberal Alliance accused church authorities of complacency, claiming that for years they had “taken their members for granted.” Søren Espersen of the fascist Denmark Democrats went further, demanding that Inner Mission, a conservative sect within the state church, target Muslims for conversion to inflate baptism numbers.

Inner Mission was quick to defend its record. Chairman Hans-Ole Bækgaard insisted the group’s missionary work among Muslims was already bearing fruit, claiming “hundreds, if not thousands” of conversions through divine intervention. He declined to offer verifiable figures, citing limited resources and the need to protect converts’ safety.

Bishop Peter Birch of the Diocese of Elsinore rejected the accusation of institutional laziness, maintaining that the church is experimenting with new forms of outreach. Among its more unorthodox efforts are so-called “drop-in baptisms,” walk-in ceremonies offered to adults who were never baptized as children. “We must show that baptism remains relevant and meaningful,” Birch said.

The calls for political interference to bring up dwindling baptism rates reflect a broader attempt from the Danish ruling elite to politicise religion. For years, the far right has weaponised Christian identity politics as an exclusionary measure against the Nordic hermit kingdom’s Muslim minority. Last year the Social Democrats launched a campaign of what they term “spiritual rearmament”, an ideological push intended to serve as an auxiliary to the regime’s aggressive military buildup plan by providing the ideological superstructure to maintain public support for runaway defense spending and militarisation of society amid an unmitigated cost-of-living crisis.

Under the banner of “spiritual rearmament,” senior regime officials have called for greater intertwining of religion, nationalism, and education. Matthias Tesfaye, then head of the Social Democrat-controlled Ministry of Education, has called in teachers to spread nationalist pro-regime propaganda in classrooms as “an inner line of defense,” while Morten Dahlin, head of the Liberal Party-controlled Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs, encouraged Danish soldiers abroad to see themselves as “fighting for Christianity.” The Social Democrats even appointed an official “democracy spokesperson,” Ida Auken, who proposed assigning a priest to the national parliament.

In addition to these statements, a cottage industry has sprung up of regime ideologues giving the campaign a pseudo-intellectual gloss, such as professor of philosophy Bent Meier Sørensen of the Copenhagen Business School who argued on state television that maintaining “the Christian cult” is essential to preserving morality, social welfare, and what he called “Christian civilization.”

Yet despite the proclamations from above, the “spiritual rearmament” appears to have struck few chords among ordinary Danes. In a society where religion is largely viewed as a private matter and public display of strong religious sentiment is frowned upon, attempts to enlist Christian revival in the service is the regime have been met with indifference, bemusement, and occasional ridicule.

The gap between official rhetoric and public sentiment continues to widen. Whether the regime’s efforts can meaningfully reverse generations of secular drift, or whether politicizing Christianity will only hasten its decline, remains an open question.

Sources:

• Under halvdelen af nyfødte står til at blive døbt næste år: ‘Vi skal blande os politisk’, DR (state media), October 21st 2025
• Indre Mission undsiger kirkeordfører: hundredvis af muslimer er omvendt, Radio 4 (state media), October 21st 2025