Organization of Churches . 
17 
laymen, met in Neenah, Wisconsin, and organized the Danish 
Mission Society, the name of which was later changed to the 
Danish Lutheran Church in America. This society adopted a 
confession of faith of a decided Grundtvigian trend, but de¬ 
clared its intention to work in the manner of the Inner Mission 
society in Denmark, and to remain in close connection with the 
mother church. 
Arrangements were made for the publication of a paper, 
Kirkelig Samler , “ for Christian and popular education and 
edification.” Much stress was laid on the fact that the society 
did not intend in any way to oppose other Lutheran church 
organizations. In spite of this, trouble arose immediately be¬ 
tween the Danish Mission society and the Norwegian church 
societies previously established. The trouble was due mainly to 
a competition between the two factions, for the Danish church 
members. It was but natural that the Danish society should 
desire to get all the Danes within its fold, and it was just as 
natural that the Norwegians should be anxious to keep all the 
members they already had. But the point at issue was the 
Grundtvigian doctrine, which the Norwegian societies had pre¬ 
viously declared rank heresy. The struggle was a long and bit¬ 
ter one, with the usual and mutual accusations of heresy, lying 
and treachery. The outcome of it all was that the Danes suc¬ 
ceeded in getting the larger number of the Danish congregations 
already established. But many of these had become much 
divided in sentiment during the struggle, and there were but 
few places where the Danish ministers received unqualified sup¬ 
port. The Norwegian ministers had succeeded in arousing a sus¬ 
picion among the Danish laity that the Grundtvigian doctrine 
was unsound and dangerous, a suspicion which was one of the 
causes that later brought about the split of the Danish church 
into the two factions, the Grundtvigian and the Inner Mission. 
In spite of this quarrel the Danish church seemed to prosper 
in the beginning. Already in 1873 it counted 1,020 paying 
members, 1,6 00 communicants and five ministers. In 1877 it 
had 1,934 paying members, 3,533 communicants and 17 minis¬ 
ters. But the situation was not as favorable as these figures, 
seem to indicate, for this rapid growth was largely due to the; 
2 
