Religion in Norway

The conversion of Norway to Christianity began in the 1000s. The raids on the British isles and on the Frankish kingdoms had brought the Vikings in touch with Christianity. Haakon the Good of Norway, who had grown up in England, tried to introduce Christianity in the mid-10th century but had met resistance from pagan leaders and soon abandoned the idea.

Anglo-Saxon missionaries from England and Germany had tried to convert Norwegians to Christianity but only had limited success. However, they succeeded in converting Olaf I of Norway to Christianity. Olaf II of Norway (later Saint Olaf) had more success in his attempts to convert the population with many Norwegians converting in the process, and he is credited with Christianizing Norway.

The Christians in Norway often established churches or other holy sites at places that had previously been sacred under the Norse religion. The spread of conversion can be measured by burial sites as Pagans were buried with grave goods while Christians were not. Christianity had become well established in Norway by the middle of the 11th century and had become dominant by the middle of the 12th century. Stave churches were built of wood without the use of nails in the 13th century.[20]

In 1536, King Christian III of Denmark converted the Norwegians from Catholicism to Lutheran Protestantism

The Norwegians were Catholics until the Danish king Christian III of Denmark ordered Denmark to convert to Lutheranism in 1536 and, as Norway was then ruled by Denmark, the Norwegians converted as well. The Danish Church Ordinance was introduced in 1537 and a Norwegian Church Council officially adopted Lutheranism in 1539. Monasteries were dissolved and church property confiscated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway established and funded by the state. Bishops still adhering to Catholicism were deposed, with Olav, Archbishop of Nidaros, fleeing the country in 1537 and another bishop dying in prison in 1542. Catholicism held on in remote parts of Norway for another couple of decades, although eventually the remaining Catholics converted or fled, to the Netherlands in particular. Many pastors were replaced with Danes and Norwegian clergy being trained at the University of Copenhagen as Norway did not have a university. The Danish translation of the Bible was used as were Danish catechisms and hymns. The use of Danish in religious ceremonies had a strong influence on the development of the Norwegian language.

The church undertook a program to convert the Sámi in the 16th and 17th centuries with the program being largely successful. The University of Oslo was established in 1811 allowing priests to train in Norway. The Norwegian Constitution of 1814 did not grant religious freedom as it stated that Jews and Jesuits were denied entrance in Norway. Moreover, adherence to Lutheran Christianity was compulsory, and so was church attendance. A ban on lay preaching was lifted in 1842, allowing several free church movements and a strong lay movement being established in the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Three years later, the so-called Dissenter Law came into effect, allowing other Christian congregations to establish in Norway. Atheism became allowed as well, and the ban on Judaism was lifted in 1851. Monasticism and Jesuits were allowed, starting in 1897 and 1956 respectively.

The Norwegian Constitution was amended in 1964 allowing freedom of religion; the exceptions are the Norwegian royal family, who are required by the constitution to be Lutherans. Furthermore, at least one half of the government must belong to the state church. On 21 May 2012 the constitution was again amended to increase the autonomy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and decrease the connection to the state.

Church pastors were active in the Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. The state church was also active in the moral debate which arose in the 1950s.

The world's northernmost mosque, in Tromsø

Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Norway with about 3.4% of the population officially (about 182,000 people in 2019) and has increased by 29.6% since 2014.[3] In 2006, 56% lived in the counties of Oslo and Akershus.[21] Some sources report that the numbers are higher than those on the official records; the Pew Foundation calculates the number of Muslims in Norway for 2010 at about 144,000 and projects the numbers to reach 359,000 by 2030.[22] For 2013, Professor Leirvik of the University of Oslo estimates regarding the number of people of Muslim background though not necessarily practicing in Norway at about 220,000 including people from Pakistan, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iran, and Morocco.[23] In the end of the 1990s, Islam passed the Catholic Church and Pentecostalism to become the largest minority religion in Norway (though the Catholics have regained ground since), provided Islam is seen as one united grouping, as there are different denominations in existence, such as Sunni, Shia and Ahmadiyya. In 2009, the registered Muslims were members of 126 different congregations.[23]

There were never many Jews in Norway. Although there are no indications of active persecution, Jews were banned from entering and residing in the dual monarchy of Denmark-Norway for long periods of time. After the split with Denmark in 1814, the new Norwegian Constitution included a notorious paragraph that banned Jews and Jesuits from entering the realm. The paragraph, which was abolished with regard to Jews in 1851 after strong political debate, appears to have been primarily aimed at the Jewish Messianic revival movements in Eastern Europe at the time, since the Sephardi and Western European Jews in many cases seem to have been exempted.

Shechita, Jewish kosher slaughter, has been banned in Norway since 1929.[24]

741 Norwegian Jews were murdered during the Nazi occupation of Norway during World War II, and in 1946 there were only 559 Jews registered living in Norway.

The Vietnamese "Khuông Việt" pagoda at Løvenstad near Oslo, the only of its kind in Norway

Buddhism has existed in Norway since the beginning of the 1970s, after immigration from countries with Buddhist populations, mainly Vietnam. Buddhistforbundet (The Buddhist Federation) in Norway was established as a religious society in 1979 by two Buddhist groups (The Zen School and Karma Tashi Ling buddhistsenter) who wanted to create a common organization to preserve issues of common interest. As of 2013, there are over 30 to 50 thousand (between 0.7%[25] and up to 1%[15] of the total population) registered Buddhists in Norway. Around 5% of them are ethnic Norwegians.[26]

Sri Tiller Ganesha Temple in Trondheim

Hinduism constitute 0.2% of the population of Norway.[3]

The Baháʼí Faith in Norway began with contact between traveling Scandinavians with early Persian believers of the Baháʼí Faith in the mid-to-late 19th century.[27] Baháʼís first visited Scandinavia in the 1920s following 'Abdu'l-Bahá's, then head of the religion, request outlining Norway among the countries to which Baháʼís should pioneer[28] and the first Baháʼí to settle in Norway was Johanna Schubartt.[29] Following a period of more Baháʼí pioneers coming to the country, Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assemblies spread across Norway while the national community eventually formed a Baháʼí National Spiritual Assembly in 1962.[30] In 2019 there were around 1100 Baháʼís in the country.[3]

Norse religion was a branch of the wider religious practices of the Germanic people prior to Christianisation and involved the worship of gods such as the Æsir, Thor and Odin. Other gods that are less prominent in the surviving sources include Ullr, the fertility god Njörðr and Frigg, who have been proposed to have previously had a greater role in regions such as Norway, before losing popularity relative to other gods.

Most information about Germanic mythology is contained in the Old Norse literature, the Eddas and later sagas. Other information comes from the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus and fragments of legends preserved in old inscriptions. Relatively little about old religious practices in Norway as most of the knowledge was lost in the gradual Christianisation.

Due to nationalistic movements in the late 18th century, Norwegian scholars found renewed interest for Norse religion, translating many of the myths to Danish (the written language in Norway at the time), popularising legends and trying to use it to create a common Norwegian culture.

A variety of Modern Pagan new religious movements known variously as Heathenry or Åsatru ("Faith of the Aesir") seek to reconstruct the pre-Christian faith practiced by the Germanic peoples such as the Norweigians prior to, and during, the Viking Age.

The Sámi follow a shamanistic religion based on nature worship. The Sámi pantheon consists of four general gods: the Mother, the Father, the Son and the Daughter (Radienacca, Radienacce, Radienkiedde and Radienneida). There is also a god of fertility, fire and thunder Horagalles, the sun goddess Beive and the moon goddess Manno as well as the goddess of death Jabemeahkka.

Like many pagan religions, the Sámi traditionally see life as a circular process of life, death and rebirth. The shaman is called a Noaidi and the traditions are passed on between families with an ageing Noaidi training a relative to take his or her place after he or she dies. Training goes on as long as the Noaidi lives but the pupil had to prove his or her skills before a group of Noaidi before being eligible to become a fully-fledged shaman at the death of his or her mentor.

The Norwegian church undertook a campaign to Christianise the Sámi in the 16th and 17th century with most of the sources being missionaries. While the vast majority of the Sámi in Norway have been Christianised, some of them still follow their traditional faith and some Noaidi are still practising their ancient religion. Sami people are often more religious than Norwegians.

In 2007, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of Norwegian parents who had sued the Norwegian state. The case was about a subject in compulsory school, kristendomskunnskap med religions- og livssynsorientering (Teachings of Christianity with orientation about religion and philosophy), KRL. The applicants complained that the refusal to grant full exemption from KRL prevented them from ensuring that their children received an education in conformity with their atheist views and philosophical convictions. A few years earlier, in 2004, the UN Committee on Human Rights in Geneva had given its support to the parents. In 2008 the subject was renamed to Religion, livssyn og etikk (Religion, philosophy and ethics).[33] The majority of this course is however still tied to Christianity. Philosophy and ethics are not properly introduced until after compulsory school. The largest Christian school in Norway has 1,400 pupils and 120 employees.[34] Kristne Friskolers Forbund is an interest group of approximately 130 Christian schools and colleges, including 12 Christian private schools.[35]

The constitution establishes that all individuals have the right to exercise their religion. The government's policies generally support the free practice of religion in the country, and it provides funding to religious organizations and anti-discrimination programs on a regular basis. According to NGOs and the Norwegian police, religiously motivated hate speech is prevalent, particularly online, and primarily targeting the Muslim and Jewish communities. The constitution of Norway establishes that "the King shall at all times profess the Evangelical-Lutheran religion".[36][37]

In 2018, Norway imposed religious clothing bans targeting Muslim women.[38]

In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.[39]

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  St. Olav's Cathedral in Oslo
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  Saint Paul Catholic Church, Bergen
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  Orthodox church in Oslo
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  Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall in Hønefoss
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  Nor mosque in Oslo
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  The synagogue in Oslo
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  Khuong Viet Buddhist Temple in Oslo
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  A Hindu temple in Trondheim