The idea of sin is central to Christianity’s understanding of Man and is accorded particular significance in Lutheranism owing to its connection with the unconditional trust that characterises Man’s relationship with God. This project explores the way in which the two linked concepts of sin and trust were articulated and used in a Danish context, with the focus on the formative period from the mid-16th to the mid-18th centuries. The hypothesis is that the duality of sin and trust contributed to the high level of social trust in Danish society which is a prerequisite for the welfare state.

This is a finished project, where a combination of visual artefacts, pious books and guides and theological texts was analyzed to explores how the senses, the body and material objects are incorporated and instrumentalised as devotional agents in early Lutheran piety.