Christianity in Norway

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The conversion of Norway to Christianity began in 1000 AD. Prior to the conversion Norwegians practised Norse paganism. Cross in Grense Jakobselv.JPG
The conversion of Norway to Christianity began in 1000 AD. Prior to the conversion Norwegians practised Norse paganism.
The Norwegian Bible, Bibelen. Norwegian Bible.jpg
The Norwegian Bible, Bibelen.

Christianity is the largest religion in Norway and Norway has historically been called a Christian country. A majority of the population are members of the Church of Norway with 64.9% of the population officially belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway in 2021. [1] At numerous times in history, Norway sent more missionaries per capita than any other country. This changed considerably from the 1960s. In 2004, only 12% of the population attended church services each month. [2] The Church of Norway receives a fixed sum from the Government not based on membership numbers. Other religious organisations receive approximately the same amount per member. [3] [4]

Contents

In 1993, there were 4,981 churches and chapels in Norway. [5]

Christianization

From the Battle of Stiklestad. Arbo-Olav den helliges fall i slaget pa Stiklestad.jpg
From the Battle of Stiklestad.
Shamanism persisted among the Sami up until the 18th century, but no longer exists in its traditional form. Most Sami today belong to the Lutheran church of Norway. Sami Jienat.jpg
Shamanism persisted among the Sami up until the 18th century, but no longer exists in its traditional form. Most Sami today belong to the Lutheran church of Norway.
Heddal stave church from early 13th century Heddal Stabkirche Gegenlicht.jpg
Heddal stave church from early 13th century

The conversion of Norway to Christianity began well before 1000 AD. The raids on Ireland, Britain and the Frankish kingdoms had brought the Vikings in touch with Christianity. [6] Haakon the Good of Norway who had grown up in England tried to introduce Christianity in the tenth century, but had met resistance from pagan leaders and soon abandoned the idea. [7] [8]

Anglo-Saxon missionaries from England and Germany engaged in converting Norwegians to Christianity, but with limited success. However, they succeeded in converting Olaf I of Norway to Christianity. [8] [7] Olaf II of Norway (later Saint Olaf) had more success in his efforts to convert the population, and he is credited with Christianising Norway. [9]

The Christians in Norway often established churches or other holy sites at places that had previously been sacred under the Norse religion. [10] The spread of conversion can be measured by burial sites as Pagans were buried with grave goods while Christians were not. [10] 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.

By county

County
Christians [11] [12]
Sogn og Fjordane vapen.svg Sogn og Fjordane 90.4%
More og Romsdal vapen.svg Møre og Romsdal 90.2%
Nordland vapen.svg Nordland 89.9%
Oppland vapen.svg Oppland 89.6%
Finnmark vapen.svg Finnmark 89.2%
Hedmark vapen.svg Hedmark 89.1%
Trondelag vapen.svg Trøndelag 88.9%
Troms vapen.svg Troms 88.8%
Aust-Agder vapen.svg Aust-Agder 87.5%
Telemark vapen.svg Telemark 86.6%
Vest-Agder vapen.svg Vest-Agder 85.6%
Rogaland vapen.svg Rogaland 85.4%
Vestfold vapen.svg Vestfold 84.8%
Ostfold vapen.svg Østfold 84.6%
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 84.2%
Buskerud vapen.svg Buskerud 83.0%
Akershus vapen.svg Akershus 81.4%
Oslo komm.svg Oslo 65.8%

The above numbers reflect the percentage of the population that are members of a church, typically from being baptized as infants. According to study collected on a sample of 706 Less than half of these define themselves as Christian. [13]

Compared with other countries

Church attendance

As of the early 21st century, Norway has one of the lowest church attendance rates in the world. Below is a table that compares Norway with other governmental divisions in regular church attendance for the early 21st century (2004–2006). In contrast to 250,000 regular churchgoers in the whole of Norway in 2004, 43,500 attend Lakewood Church in the United States each week, and 23,000 attend Hillsong Church in Australia each week.

The U.S. state of Alabama has a population roughly equal to that of Norway, but church attendance in Alabama is as much as 11 times higher than in Norway.

Country / StateRegular church attendance (%)Regular church attendance (number)
Flag of Alabama.svg Alabama 58% [14] 2,700,000
Flag of Poland.svg Poland 56.7% [15] 21,600,000
Flag of Texas.svg Texas 49% [14] 12,140,000
Flag of the United States.svg United States average42% [14] 120,000,000
Flag of California.svg California 32% [14] 11,830,000
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 25%7,800,000
Flag of Vermont.svg Vermont 24% [14] 140,000
Flag of France.svg France 15%9,800,000
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 10% [16] 6,000,000
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia 7.5% [17] 1,500,000
Flag of Norway.svg Norway5% [18] 250,000

Importance of religion

Below is a table that compares Norway with other countries in importance of religion.

CountryPeople who say religion is important [19] Percent Christian of total population (%)
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Congo DR98.5%95.1%
Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines95.5%92.4%
Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil86.5%90.4%
Flag of Iran.svg Iran82.5%2.0%
Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus75%98.1%
Flag of Greece.svg Greece71.5%98.0%
Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland53.5%92.3%
Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea42.5%34.6%
Flag of Albania.svg Albania32.5%20.0%
Flag of Finland.svg Finland28%82.2%
Flag of Norway.svg Norway20.5%85.6%
Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark18%89.4%
Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden16.5%79.9%
Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia16%27.8%

Public opinion

World Values Survey

Religious Affiliation/Identification1982199019962005
Percent belonging to a religious denomination95.9%90.2%90.7%
Percent identifying as a religious person48%47.5%46.9%41.3%
Percent raised religious45.7%41.4%
Religious Behaviors1982199019962005
Percent attending religious services at least once a month15.4%12.7%12.5%10.8%
Percent that meditate or pray61.6%64.4%33.2%
Percent active in a church or religious organization8.3%8.3%
Religious Beliefs1982199019962005
Percent believing in God75.5%65%68.8%
Percent believing in heaven51.9%43.8%46.7%
Percent believing in hell23.5%19.2%19.7%
Percent believing in life after death50.7%44.7%47.3%
Percent believing that there are clear guidelines on good and evil31.4%31.6%29.1%
Percent believing that politicians who do not believe in God are unfit for public office3.8%
Percent believing that religious leaders should not influence people's vote8.9%
Percent believing that things would be better if there are more people with strong religious beliefs6.2%
Percent believing church gives answers to people's spiritual needs64.3%55%48.2%
Percent believing church gives answers on family life problems36.5%29.1%16.1%
Percent believing churches give answers to moral problems47.5%40.9%28.7%
Percent believing churches give answers to social problems18.5%11.7%
Percent believing that religious leaders should influence the government79.4%
Percent believing that people have a soul59%54.4%59.6%
Percent believing in the concept of sin59.2%44.2%45.4%
Percent believing religious services are important for deaths81.1%
Percent believing religious services are important for births66.3%
Percent believing religious services are important for marriages70.4%
Percent believing in a personal God39.2%29.8%
Percent believing in re-incarnation38.4%15.2%
Percent believing in the devil's existence30.2%24%28%
Percent that think that religious faith is an important quality in children8.6%
Percent that agree: We depend too much on science and not enough on faith25.8%
Percent that do not trust people of other religions20.4%
Percent that often think about meaning and purpose of life20.2%
Religious Experiences1982199019962005
Percent finding comfort and strength from religion48.5%35.6%39.5%
Attitudes1982199019962005
Percent considering religion important40.3%38.2%32.8%
Percent considering that God is not at all important in their life19.6%24.8%22.1%27.9%
Percent confident in religious organizations49.6%44.6%53.5%50.5%

Other

Born again Christian [20] 19972010
Percent who report Born-again Christian 19%26%
People who report Born-again Christian 835,0001,263,000

Denominations

Statistics Norway

Religion (on 31 December 2019) [1] [21] MembersPercentGrowth (2014–2019)
Christianity 4,059,36675.63%-2.0%
Church of Norway 3,686,71568.68%−4.1%
Catholic Church 165,254 [22] 3.08%72.8%
Pentecostal congregations 40,7250.76%4.0%
Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy 28,5440.53%63.3%
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church 19,3130.36%−1.0%
Jehovah's Witnesses 12,6610.24%2.9%
Baptists 10,8230.20%5.1%
The Methodist Church in Norway 10,0000.19%−5.4%
Other Christianity85,3311.59%−6.8%
Total [23] 5,367,850100.0%3.9%

The Association of Religion Data Archives

DenominationPercent [24]
Christian92.0%
Agnostic 3.5%
Muslim 2.8%
Buddhist 0.7%
Atheist 0.6%
Baháʼí 0.1%
Neo-pagan 0.1%

Operation World 2001

DenominationPercent[ citation needed ]
Christianity93.7%
Protestant 89.4%
Other Christian2.0%
Independent1.2%
Catholic 0.8%
Non-religious 5.0%
Islam 1.0%
Buddhism 0.2%

Protestantism

Lutheranism

Church of Norway

The Church of Norway (Den norske kirke in Bokmål or Den norske kyrkja in Nynorsk) is the state church of Norway. The church confesses the Lutheran Christian faith. It has as its foundation the Christian Bible, the Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, Luther's Small Catechism and the Augsburg Confession. The Church is a member of the Porvoo Communion with 12 other churches, among them the Anglican Churches of Europe. It has also signed some other ecumenical texts, including the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Catholic Church and the Joint statement on the occasion of the Joint Catholic-Lutheran Commemoration of the Reformation in the city of Lund, Sweden in 2016.

Most Norwegian villages have their own church like this. Tveit kirke.JPG
Most Norwegian villages have their own church like this.
A service in Stavanger Cathedral. Stavanger Cathedral pulpit.jpg
A service in Stavanger Cathedral.

The constitutional head of the Church is the King of Norway, who is obliged to profess the Lutheran faith. The Church of Norway is subject to legislation, including its budgets, passed by the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, and its central administrative functions are carried out by the Royal Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs.

The Church has a congregational and episcopal structure, with 1,284 parishes, 106 deaneries and 11 dioceses, namely:

As of 2008 [25] Percent
Members3,874,82381.8%
Participation in worship services, Sundays and holidays5,069,341
Baptism42,599
Confirmation41,655
Consecration10,536
Funeral38,832

The following membership numbers are from Statistics Norway's data from 2016 to 2020: [26]

Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway

The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway (Den Evangelisk Lutherske frikyrkja i Noreg in Norwegian) or the Free Church as it is commonly known, is a nationwide Lutheran free church in Norway consisting of 81 congregations with 19,313 members in 2020, up from 18,908 in 2016. [27] It was founded in 1877 in Moss. It should not be confused with the Church of Norway, though both churches are members of the Lutheran World Federation. The Free Church is financially independent.

The Swedish Church in Norway

13,108 members in 2020, down from 21,689 in 2016.

Mission Covenant Church of Norway

11,223 members in 2020, up from 10,598 in 2016.

Brunstad Christian Church

(previously known as Den Kristelige Menighet, 'the Christian Church')

8,726 members in 2020, up from 8,177 in 2016.

The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation

2,180 members in 2020, down from 4,117 in 2016.

Free Evangelical Congregations

3,127 members in 2020, down from 3,318 in 2016.

Christian Centres

2,968 members in 2020, down from 3,001 in 2016.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church Community

3,139 members in 2020, down from 3,177 in 2016.

The Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in Norway

6,008 members in 2020, down from 6,830 in 2016.

The Christian Community

2,428 members in 2020, down from 2,550 in 2016.

Other Protestant

Pentecostal Congregations

40,725 members in 2020, up from 39,431 in 2016.

The Norwegian Baptist Union

10,823 in 2020, up from 10,367 in 2016.

Adventists

4,642 in 2020, down from 4,778 in 2016.

Anglicanism

The Methodist Church in Norway

10,000 in 2020, down from 10,531 in 2016.

Catholic Church

St. Olav Catholic Cathedral in Oslo. StOlavsOsloFeb2009.jpg
St. Olav Catholic Cathedral in Oslo.

The Catholic Church in Norway is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and the Curia in Rome. Per 1 January 2020 the church had 165,254 registered members. [26] The number has more than doubled since 2010 from approximately 67,000 members, mainly due to high immigration. [28] There may be approximately 170,000–200,000 people of Catholic background in the country, most of them immigrants. [29] [ needs update ]

The country is divided into three Church districts – the Diocese of Oslo and the prelatures of Trondheim and Tromsø and 32 parishes. The Bishop of Oslo participates in the Scandinavian Bishops Conference. The Catholic Church in Norway is as old as the kingdom itself, dating from approximately 900 A.D., with the first Christian monarchs, Haakon I from 934.

At first, the bulk of Catholic immigrants came from Germany, the Netherlands, and France. Immigration from Chile, the Philippines, and from a wide range of other countries began in the 1970s. This development has further increased in the last few years with economic immigrants from Poland and Lithuania. Ethnic Norwegian Catholics are now greatly outnumbered by the immigrants, although the former tend to be far more observant and conservative, being a self-selected group largely of ex-Lutheran converts.[ citation needed ]

Orthodoxy

Eastern Orthodoxy

28,544 in 2020, up from 20,202 in 2016. The Orthodox Church has experienced a 235% increase in membership from 2010 to 2020. [28]

Oriental Orthodoxy

Other Christian

Restorationism

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses is the largest nontrinitarian religious organization in Norway, with a membership of 12,661 in 2020, up from 12,413 in 2016. [26] A branch office is located in Ytre Enebakk. In 2022, the group lost its legal status as a religion over their exclusionary policies, although they are not banned within Norway. [30]

Mormonism

See also

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