Church of Norway Apologizes to LGBTQ+ Community for Decades of Discrimination

The Church of Norway on Thursday issued a formal apology to the country’s LGBTQ+ community for decades of discrimination, acknowledging that the institution had caused harm to gay people and expressing gratitude to those who pushed for change.

Bishop Olav Fykse Tveit delivered the apology at London Pub in Oslo, a gay bar that was the site of a deadly shooting during the city’s Pride celebrations in June 2022, which left two people dead.

Speaking on behalf of Norway’s Bishops’ Conference, Tveit said, “The world is a better place when people are free to love whomever they choose.”

“The Church in Norway has inflicted shame, harm, and deep pain,” he continued. “That should never have happened — and for that, I sincerely apologize.”

The apology follows a 2022 acknowledgment by the Norwegian bishops that the church had caused suffering to LGBTQ+ individuals. In the 1950s, the Norwegian Bishops’ Conference had described gay people as a “global social threat.”

A special church service at Oslo Cathedral was held Thursday evening to mark the apology.

Today, same-sex couples can marry in ceremonies conducted by the Church of Norway, an evangelical Lutheran body and the country’s largest religious organization.

In comparison, the Church of England, which leads the global Anglican Communion of 85 million members, apologized to LGBTQ+ people in January 2023 for its “shameful” treatment of them, though it still does not permit same-sex marriages in churches. This week, its bishops also paused plans to test special blessings for same-sex couples, even though such blessings may still occur within regular services.