The Norwegian Church Makes Formal Apology to LGBTQ+ Community for ‘Shame, Great Harm and Pain’

Set against deep red curtains at one of Oslo’s most prominent LGBTQ+ spaces, the Church of Norway offered an apology for discrimination and harm it had inflicted.

“Norway's church has inflicted LGBTQ+ individuals shame, great harm and pain,” the presiding bishop, Bishop Tveit, announced during a Thursday event. “It was wrong for this to take place and that is why I apologise today.”

“Unequal treatment, harassment and discrimination” had caused a loss of faith for some, the bishop admitted. A church service at Oslo Cathedral was arranged to take place after his statement.

The apology took place at the London Pub establishment, one among two bars attacked during the 2022 shooting that resulted in two deaths and caused serious injuries to nine during Oslo’s Pride celebrations. A Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was given a prison term to at least 30 years in prison for the killings.

Similar to numerous global faiths, the Norwegian Lutheran Church – a Lutheran evangelical community that is the biggest religious group in Norway – historically excluded the LGBTQ+ community, refusing to allow them from joining the clergy or from marrying in religious ceremonies. In the 1950s, the church’s bishops referred to homosexual individuals as “a worldwide social threat”.

Yet, with Norwegian society turning more progressive, ranking as the second globally to permit registered partnerships for same-sex couples in 1993 and during 2009 the first in Scandinavia to approve gay marriage, the church slowly followed.

During 2007, the Church of Norway started appointing LGBTQ+ clergy, and LGBTQ+ partners could have church weddings starting in 2017. Last year, Tveit joined in the Pride march in Oslo in what was noted as a historic moment for the religious institution.

The Thursday statement of regret was met with differing opinions. The head of a network representing Norwegian Christian lesbians, Hanne Marie Pedersen-Eriksen, who is also a gay pastor, referred to it as “a crucial act of amends” and a point in time that “signaled the conclusion of a difficult period in the history of the church”.

As stated by Stephen Adom, the director of the Norwegian Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the statement was “strong and important” but was delivered “overdue for individuals among us who died of Aids … with hearts filled with anguish as the church regarded the disease as punishment from God”.

Globally, a few churches have sought to make amends for historical treatment concerning the LGBTQ+ community. In 2023, England's church apologised for what it characterized as its “shameful” treatment, even as it continues to refuse to permit gay marriages in religious settings.

Likewise, Ireland's Methodist Church the previous year apologised for “shortcomings in pastoral care and support” toward LGBTQ+ individuals and their relatives, but stayed firm in its conviction that marriage could only be a union between a man and a woman.

Several months ago, Canada's United Church delivered a statement of regret toward Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ individuals, characterizing it as a confirmation of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” in all aspects of church life.

“We have not succeeded to honor and appreciate the beauty of all creation,” Michael Blair, the general secretary of the church, stated. “We have hurt individuals in place of fostering completeness. We are sorry.”