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Anton Christian Bang (18 September 1840 in Dønna, Helgeland – 29 December 1913) was a Norwegian theologian, historian and politician for the Conservative Party of Norway. Bang was one of the more prominent figures within the Church of Norway in the decades around 1900. He served as Professor of church history at the Royal Frederick University from 1885, as Minister of Education and Church Affairs 1893–1895 and as Bishop of Oslo 1896-1912.
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Biography
Bang was born on the island Dønna, in Nordland to Ivar Christian Bang Andersen and Mariane Hansdatter Klæboe. As a youth he was involved in the Lofoten fishing season. He attended teacher seminar in Tromsø (1858-1960), theology studies (1862-1867) and then ministry in Gran, in Tromsø and at Gaustad asylum in Christiania. In 1876 he took the first doctorate in theology at the University of Oslo on the subject Om Kristi Opstandelses historiske Virkelighed (On Christ's Resurrection's Historical Reality).
Bang was a professor of church history (1885) and Bishop of Oslo (1896-1912). As a Bishop in Oslo and with his close ties to the royal house, he represented several national missions, including at the inauguration of the German Redemption Church in Jerusalem 1898.
Bang was Minister of Education and Church Affairs 1893–1895, and member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm in 1895. Bang was appointed to the Second cabinet of Emil Stang in 1893.
As a researcher Bang was very productive and his writings cover a wide field. Bang wrote several major works in his career, including a notable biography on Hans Nielsen Hauge. The main contribution he made was as a collector on historic information and thus gave important contribution to the religious folklore research. He was considered a conservative, both as a politician and as a theologian.