The Danish-Norwegian Church had also been affected by the pietistic revivalism brought about in the German Protestant Church by Spener and Francke. Christian himself was a pious man, but his religion was mournful and morbid. He was, to a great extent, controlled by his pietistic court-chaplain, Bluhme. A Sabbath ordinance was enacted (1735), by which several preposterous rules about church-going were introduced and some antiquated laws were again put in force. Neglect of attendance at church was punished in the cities by money fines, and in the country by being placed in the stocks, which, for that purpose, were erected outside of every church door. Public amusements hitherto considered harmless--dancing, games and festivities--were forbidden; weddings and social parties were not to be held on a holiday or the evening before. A general Church Inspection College was established in 1737, a kind of Court of Inquisition, whose duty it was to watch over the proper performance of church services. The result of this unwise zeal for religion was a general state of hypocrisy and intolerance. Unscrupulous people, who feigned holiness and imitated the pietists at court, were given offices, while those who were sincere and independent were left out.
One of the beneficial results of the pietism which ruled during the reign of Christian VI. was the introduction of the Confirmation in the Lutheran faith. This was introduced upon the advice of court chaplain Bluhme, by the ordinance of January 13, 1736; the same year in which the second centennial of the introduction of the Reformation was celebrated. The Confirmation led to an improved Christian education of the people, and indirectly compelled all classes of the people to read. Great zeal was also shown in the printing of Bibles and other religious books, and some improvement was made in the Norwegian Church organization by an ordinance of August 13, 1734. The Latin schools were reorganized in 1739, the teachers being given better salaries, while more suitable text-books were introduced.
Some efforts were also made to improve the trade, manufactures and navigation of Norway, but these efforts were not always well directed. The trade with Finmarken, Iceland and Greenland was leased to companies, whose aim seemed to be the greatest possible extortion. Very unwise and harmful to the country was the king's decree forbidding the people of southern Norway to buy grain from any other country than Denmark. The navy was greatly improved under the supervision of Count Frederick Danneskiold-Samsoe, Admiral Suhm and Constructor Benstrup; but their work took large sums of money.