In 1918, a group of Christian activists gathered in Stockholm to establish the League for Christian Citizenship (Förbundet för Kristet Samhällsliv), under the leadership of the progressive reverend and peace advocate Natanael Beskow. The organization sought to apply Christian ethics to the pressing political issues of the time, particularly the social question and the pursuit of peace. Their main goal was the transformation of the world in accordance with the Christian commandment of love. This paper explores the political thinking of the organization, with a particular focus on how religious concepts were reinterpreted and politicized in the context of early 20th-century Sweden. It does so by presenting, contextualizing and surveying articles published in the journal Christian Citizenship (Kristet Samhällsliv), alongside archival materials and personal writings by key members.

The empirical part of the study is structured around three central theological concepts that the organization imbued with political significance: the concept of the Kingdom of God (gudsrikestanken), the concept of personality (personlighetstanken), and the concept of brotherhood (broderskapstanken). These ideas correspond to the group’s utopian vision, their view of the human being, and their understanding of society. The Kingdom of God was understood not as a distant realm, but as a tangible ideal that could gradually be realized on earth, through human effort and moral progress. This required personal transformation and social reform, led by the principles of personality and brotherhood. By focusing on these theological-political concepts, the paper highlights the organizations distinctive ideological position. Drawing from a broad repertoire of religious and political ideas – including Social Christianity, Humanism, and Socialism – their ideology does not easily fit within conventional political categories. I argue that Beskow and his colleagues articulated a visionary, idealistic, and spiritual form of leftism that has largely been forgotten. By recovering this ideological stance, the study helps us broaden our view of the internationally acclaimed Swedish left, which consisted of more than just the Social Democrats, while also giving insights on the country’s democratization process in the early 20th century.