Many Roads to the Kingdom of Heaven: Swedenborgianism’s Cultural Legacy

This session explores the various cultural and religious responses to the teachings of Swedish visionary Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). Swedenborg was a uniquely ecumenical thinker and insisted that God’s love and presence could be felt at the core of every religion. This theological openness inspired a wide range of thinkers, artists, and writers, who used Swedenborg’s thought to challenge religious exclusivism and cultural hegemony in new and exciting ways. The session highlights the tradition’s diversity and its response to millenarianism, 19th-century American religion, and Western Sufism.