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"Mass literacy campaigns were first introduced in Sweden and Finland at the end of
the 17th century. The Swedish Church Law of 1686 demanded general reading
ability: children should "learn to read and see with their own eyes what God bids
and commands in His Holy Word" (Johansson, 1977, p. 11). A Royal decree some
40 years later reminded the parents of their duty to keep their children to book
reading and the study of the lessons in the catechism (Johansson, 1977, pp. 11,43).
Those two legal documents form the formal basis of the Swedish home instruction
system. This system made it the parents' responsibility that their children received
instruction, but this instruction must not necessarily be given by the parents
themselves."