Church of Norway Issues Sincere Apology to LGBTQ+ People for ‘Harm, Shame and Suffering’

Set against crimson theater drapes at a leading Oslo LGBTQ+ venue, Norway's national church issued a formal apology for discrimination and harm caused by the church.

“Norway's church has caused the LGBTQ+ community harm, suffering and humiliation,” the lead bishop, Bishop Tveit, declared this Thursday. “It was wrong for this to take place and this is why I apologise today.”

“Unequal treatment, harassment and discrimination” had caused certain individuals abandoning their faith, Tveit acknowledged. A church service at the cathedral in Oslo was arranged to take place after his statement.

The statement of regret took place at the London Pub establishment, a bar that was one of two attacked during the 2022 shooting that took two lives and caused serious injuries to nine during Oslo’s Pride celebrations. A Norwegian of Iranian origin, who swore loyalty to Islamic State, was sentenced to a minimum of three decades in prison for the murders.

Like many religions around the world, Norway's church – an evangelical Lutheran church that is the biggest religious group in Norway – for years sidelined LGBTQ+ individuals, denying them the opportunity from joining the clergy or to marry in church. During the 1950s, bishops of the church characterized LGBTQ+ persons as “a worldwide social threat”.

However, as Norway's society grew more liberal, ranking as the second globally to legalize same-sex partnerships during 1993 and by 2009 the first in Scandinavia to approve gay marriage, the church slowly followed.

Back in 2007, the Church of Norway commenced the ordination of gay pastors, and LGBTQ+ partners have been able to have church weddings starting in 2017. During 2023, Tveit joined in the Pride march in Oslo in what was called a historic moment for the religious institution.

The apology on Thursday elicited a mixed reaction. The leader of an organization for Christian lesbians in Norway, Pedersen-Eriksen, who is also a gay pastor, described it as “a significant step toward healing” and an occasion that “signaled the conclusion of a dark chapter in the history of the church”.

According to Stephen Adom, the leader of Norway’s Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the apology was “meaningful and vital” but was delivered “overdue for individuals among us who died of Aids … with hearts filled with anguish because the church considered the epidemic as divine punishment”.

Worldwide, a handful of religious institutions have sought to offer apologies for historical treatment concerning the LGBTQ+ community. In 2023, the Church of England said sorry for what it characterized as its “shameful” treatment, even as it continues to refuse to authorize same-sex weddings in religious settings.

Likewise, the Methodist Church located in Ireland last year issued an apology for its “failures in pastoral support and care” to LGBTQ+ people and their relatives, but remained staunch in the view that matrimony must only constitute a bond between male and female.

In the early part of this year, the United Church based in Canada delivered a statement of regret toward Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ individuals, labeling it a renewed commitment of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” throughout every area of church life.

“We have failed to honor and appreciate all of your beautiful creation,” Reverend Blair, the general secretary of the church, said. “We have wounded people rather than pursuing healing. We apologize.”