Contents -- Acknowledgements -- List of Tables -- List of Abbreviations -- 1: The Secularization Debate: An Introduction to the Problematic Relationship between Religion and Modernity -- A. Problems of Definition -- B. The Secularization Debate in Sociology -- C. The Secularization Debate in Modern European Religious History -- D. The Secularization Debate in Swedish Religious History -- E. The Place of the Present Work in Secularization Scholarship -- F. Gender and Religion in Modern Sweden -- G. Sources -- H. Outline -- 2: The Female Diaconate in Nineteenth-Century Sweden -- A. The Origins and Formation of the Female Diaconate -- B. Leadership and Organization -- C. The Calling of a Deaconess -- D. A Profile of Deaconesses -- E. Deaconess Education -- F. The Work of Deaconesses -- G. The Difficulties of Recruiting and Retaining Deaconesses -- H. Conclusion -- 3: Education -- A. Popular Education in Medieval and Early Modern Europe -- B. Educational Reforms in Nineteenth-Century Sweden -- C. The Deaconess School for Poor Children -- D. Deaconesses as Teachers in Provincial Sweden -- E. The Discontinuation of Teaching -- F. Conclusion -- 4: Health Care -- A. Health Care in Medieval and Early Modern Europe -- B. Origins of the Modern Nursing Profession in Nineteenth-Century Sweden -- C. The Deaconess Hospital -- D. The Nursing Home and the Polyclinic -- E. Private Home Care and Provincial Hospitals -- F. Conclusion -- 5: Poor Relief -- A. Poor Relief in Medieval and Early Modern Europe -- B. Poor Relief Reform in Nineteenth-Century Sweden -- C. Indoor Relief -- D. Outdoor Relief -- E. Conclusion -- 6: The Social Significance of Swedish Deaconesses -- Bibliography -- INDEX.