The crown suppressed most alternative religions until the Enlightenment, though it sometimes permitted small circles of Nonconformists to practice in Copenhagen and Fredericia.
Since the late eighteenth century, Denmark has stood at the forefront of political and economic liberalization in Europe. Democracy and religious freedom were established in the constitution of 1849, and the country has been among the world's leaders in promoting gender equality and progressive social legislation since World War II. Religious groups have proliferated, though the state church still retains the vast majority of the population. While the nation is among the most prosperous in the world, economic strains in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries led to questions about the future of its generous welfare state. At the same time, the difficulty of absorbing immigrants into the largely homogeneous population has sparked contentious national debates about Danish culture and identity. Since most of the immigrants have been Muslims—guest workers and their families began arriving in the 1960s, and large numbers of African and MiddleEastern refugees have since entered the country—these debates have often taken on religious overtones.
Religious Tolerance
The Danish constitution explicitly guarantees freedom of worship, and official discrimination against Nonconformist religions has been all but unknown.
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