The Norwegian Church Issues Apology to LGBTQ+ Individuals for ‘Harm, Shame and Suffering’

Amid deep red curtains at a leading Oslo LGBTQ+ venue, the Church of Norway offered an apology for discrimination and harm perpetrated over the years.

“The national church has caused the LGBTQ+ community harm, suffering and humiliation,” the lead bishop, Bishop Tveit, announced this Thursday. “This should never have happened and this is why I apologise today.”

“Harassment, discrimination and unfair treatment” led to some to lose their faith, Tveit recognized. A worship service at Oslo Cathedral was planned to take place after his statement.

The statement of regret occurred at the London Pub, a bar that was one of two attacked during the 2022 violent incident that took two lives and caused serious injuries to nine throughout the Oslo Pride festivities. A Norwegian of Iranian origin, who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was sentenced to at least 30 years behind bars for the murders.

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

However, as Norway's society grew more liberal, becoming the second in the world to legalize same-sex partnerships back in 1993 and during 2009 the first in Scandinavia to legalize same-sex marriage, the religious institution eventually adapted.

In 2007, the Norwegian Lutheran Church started appointing gay pastors, and same-sex couples were permitted to get married in religious ceremonies since 2017. In 2023, Tveit participated in Oslo’s Pride parade in what was noted as a first for the church.

The Thursday statement of regret was met with differing opinions. The leader of an organization for Christian lesbians in Norway, Hanne Marie, herself a gay pastor, described it as “an important reparation” and a point in time that “represented the closure of a dark chapter in the church’s history”.

According to Stephen Adom, the director of the Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Norway, the apology was “strong and important” but had come “overdue for individuals who passed away from AIDS … with hearts filled with anguish because the church considered the crisis to be God’s punishment”.

Internationally, a handful of religious institutions have attempted to offer apologies for historical treatment towards LGBTQ+ people. In 2023, the Anglican Church said sorry for what it described as “disgraceful” conduct, though it continues to refuse to allow same-sex marriages in religious settings.

In a similar vein, the Methodist Church located in Ireland the previous year expressed regret for “inadequate pastoral assistance and care” to LGBTQ+ people and family members, but stayed firm in the view that marriage could only be a bond between male and female.

In the early part of this year, Canada's United Church offered an apology toward Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ individuals, describing it as a renewed commitment of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” in every part of the church's activities.

“We did not manage to honor and appreciate all of your beautiful creation,” Rev Michael Blair, the general secretary of the church, said. “We caused pain to people rather than pursuing healing. We apologize.”