Michel Foucault acknowledged that the Reformation was a pastoral battle and a reorganization of pastoral power. He did not, however, analyze Protestantism much further. This article broadens the scope of critical research on Protestantism, focusing on Lutheranism. Preaching is a fruitful way to overcome overemphasis on confession. In this endeavor I apply Foucault’s concept of “master’s discourse.” I argue that while, in Lutheranism, conversion through comprehensive soul-searching is an individual matter, at the same time it relies on technologies aimed at a collective audience, such as preaching. Since preaching is divine speech, the Lutheran priest wields enormous spiritual power: the preacher is the truth-teller and the subject is required to listen to and internalize the proclaimed truth, instead of confessing their sins.

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The topic of this article is the relation between 'politicality' and theology in the discourse of Finnish religious nationalism during the Winter War of 1939-40 and the Continuation War of 1941-44. I shall draw on the ideas of Kari Palonen and Anthony D. Smith in attempting to thematise theological depoliticisation as an intrinsic element of religious nationalism. Also, I will elaborate its political significance in the Finnish context, where the role of traditional religion in the general development of nationalist thought has been particularly important. The specific focus is on how prominent representatives of the Finnish clergy related to war and nationalist claims in general. My interpretation is that their arguments were drawn from what I call the topoi of theological depoliticisation, which, at the same time, rendered the discourse extremely political.This study arises out of two main ideas. The first is the analogy between religious commitment and devotion to the national cause as the basis of political legitimacy. My interest in the topic stems from this link between politics and theology: according to the Weber (1994: 316) definition, the state aims to monopolise the legitimate use of physical violence within a given territory, but how is this affected by a combination of religion and nationalism? The second is the thesis that authority is legitimised by 'the hallowed, eternal past', which has held sway from time immemorial (ibid.: 311).I shall examine the discourse of Finnish religious nationalism during the World War II. Drawing on the ideas of Kari Palonen and Anthony D. Smith, I attempt to thematise theological depoliticisation as an intrinsic element of religious nationalism and elaborate its political significance in the Finnish context. First, I will present the theoretical starting points and some ideas about religion and nationalism. Then I will analyse the rhetoric of representatives of the Finnish clergy. Due to the close and long-lasting relationship between the state, the army and the established church it is worth examining the higher clergy during wartime as representatives of Finnish religious nationalism. The empirical material consists of articles, sermons and statements.

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