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What it is
 
Here is the Law of Jante, which Sandemose wrote after observing it in Norwegian culture:

Heresy is truth in distortion, and there is an element of truth in these Ten Commandments. St. Paul wrote to the Philippians, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves" (2:3). The next verse balances this outlook by saying, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others" (Philippians 2:4). Humility is a tricky quality to get a handle on. It does not mean putting ourselves down, de-valuing who we are, adopting an inferiority complex, or assuming we can't do well or won't amount to anything. This is the false face we sometimes give humility. True humility is a realistic assessment of who we are, and it actually leads to boldness rather than to lack of confidence.
 
The Law of Jante, however, takes an inaccurate picture of humility, what I call "worm theology," and applies it to others in a kind of pseudo-democratic fashion. It levels people off so that no one feels like rising above anyone else.
 
The Japanese have a saying, "The nail that sticks out is pounded down," and the Law of Jante has been used for decades to pound people down, to put them in their place, to keep them from stepping out, to make them feel like they are junk, until they question their value to others and even to God.
 
A Swedish pastor once told me that it is the opposite of the American spirit of "rugged individualism." "If you ask a Swede if he plays an instrument, he says, 'Well, not much. I just practice a little bit,' even if he is a concert pianist. If you ask an American, he says, 'Sure, I'm going to release a CD soon,' even if he knows only two chords."
 
A man gifted in prophecy was in Sweden for the first time in the ‘80's. Without knowing about the Law of Jante, he saw a spirit over Scandinavia, a spirit of "Don't think that you are someone, don't brag or be pushy; step back in line." This man also said that it was not the true spirit of Scandinavia. The Vikings at their best were brave pioneers. When people are transformed by Christ and delivered from bondage to the Law of Jante, they take on this true spirit.

What it does
 
The Law of Jante has the effect of creating:

The Law of Jante neutralizes what is positive in the Viking spirit. It levels everyone off, so that no one shines above the others. It creates a democratic spirit, the strong side of which encourages the rich to share with the poor, as they do in Scandinavia, but the negative side keeps people from feeling special to anyone, even to God. To hear how freely God loves them is good news, although many find it too good to be true and prefer to stick to their own feeble efforts.
 
The Law of Jante stands in contrast to God's assessment of His crowning creation when He said that it was "very good." It says instead, "I'm not okay, and you're even worse." So it makes people reluctant to affirm others, to show honour where honour is due, to live with positive attitudes toward themselves, and to exercise faith. Place the sieve of the Jante spirit over a person's mind and truth is siphoned out. Even if I read from Scripture that I am special, the interpretation comes out, "I am second-rate. God blesses special people; I just don't happen to be one of them. Of course, God loves the world, but I'll never play in His first team. I am not gifted, I am not worthy, I am not important to God or to anyone. And I shouldn't attempt to think differently."
 
The Law of Jante also keeps people from living their true emotions, from experiencing true joy. One Christian lady we spent an evening with in Norway told us that she was criticized by some friends for having too much fun on her thirtieth birthday. The spirit of Jante creates a heavy legalism that makes people uncomfortable with a spirit of celebration and that transforms delight into duty. Sober living is deep in the Scandinavian soul. They laughed at the jokes I told in sermons, but they let me know that their pastors do not tell jokes when they preach. I could get away with it, because I was an American. Because of the shame that is imposed on people who step out of the line or rise above the crowd, many people have placed a cap on their emotions. They stay close to the middle rather than going to the edges, either of expressed grief or of expressed joy. Going to the extremes is a greater social sin than passivity. So look for a whole company of passive-aggressives. They are spawned in this kind of climate.
 
All of this means that peer pressure is a big factor in the Christian culture and in the community. Pastors’ fear becoming mavericks more than they do in America, disappointing their bishops, creating waves, and stirring up opposition among their people. So while many pastors in the state churches have experienced personal renewal in the life of the Spirit, very few churches have. People long for the freedom of the Spirit and find it in renewal meetings, but then they must return to churches where tradition brings intimidation and where you had better not stick out in any way, lest you get pounded down. I once asked a Norwegian pastor friend, Jens-Petter Jorgensen, then the director of Oase, the Norwegian form of Lutheran Renewal, whether the main enemy in the church was liberalism or traditionalism. His answer, the latter, was borne out by my experience there. Traditions are healthy, but traditionalism makes a god out of traditions, and it makes change and innovation difficult to implement.

One can fall off the horse on either side. Where you find legalism, it will often be followed by license. Both operate in the flesh rather than in the spirit.
 
Legalism creates license, because legalism resists grace, condemning people to put on holiness and to resist sin by their own effort -- which is impossible. The Pharisees were out-of-control sinners, although they hid their wickedness behind a veil of religion. Scandinavia, for all its sophistication, success, and beautiful state churches, has trumped American culture in its embrace of immorality. America is the world's leader in evangelizing evil, but Scandinavia is ahead in living it out. Its churches, like many of its people, are empty.
 
Dr. Gary Sweeten, director of Lifeway Ministries International and a frequent lecturer in Scandinavia, said, "We encountered the spiritual, social, religious and familial results of Jante when we began to minister in Norway in 1986. It showed up in many of the comments of bright and capable men and women. They chronically put themselves down. For example, most refused to respond to my request to write down their talents and share them with others. When I asked them why the usually submissive Norwegian pastors would not comply, I got this answer: 'we have no gifts or talents. It would be sinful to act with pride and admit that we have any strength.' Most attempts to affirm them were rebuffed, and suggestions that anyone assert himself or excel were seen as 'American and not Norwegian.' While doing a weeklong retreat…we ran headlong into several leaders who mentally beat themselves up for being successful. In fact, one asked for prayer to be healed from success!"
 
Dr. Sweeten took people at the retreat through an eight-step process of deliverance prayer. "Amazingly," he wrote, "after all this teaching, discussion, confession and repentance, there were still many leaders who were confused about why the Law was wrong. It had become so much a part of each person's mental map that change was almost impossible. I therefore did another complete teaching, confession, small group sharing, burning of the vows, public confession and repentance and burning of the Law of Jante.
 
After the retreat we heard something that thrilled us and made us think that God was at work among us. The Prime Minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland, appeared on national TV the night after our teaching and prayer. At the time (the late 80's) there was a recession in Norway and she was concerned that the country could not pull itself out without great effort. She spent a great deal of time discussing how the Jante Law destroyed Norwegian initiative, self-reliance and self-esteem. 'This old view must be destroyed,' she said. Next, the Prime Minister did a very powerful thing. She, like us, destroyed the Jante symbolically by first reading it, and then tearing it up! This showed the entire country that it could not go on with these lies in the minds of the people. We believe that her boldness was related to our spiritual fight the night before. Perhaps some of the current revival in Norway can be traced back to that evening of spiritual warfare. However, it must be taught and re-taught all the time."
 
How to Overcome it