While the constitution of Norway establishes that the King of Norway must be Evangelical Lutheran, it also establishes that all individuals have the right to exercise their religion. The government's policies generally support the free practice of religion in the country, and it provides funding to religious organizations and anti-discrimination programs on a regular basis. According to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Norwegian police, religiously motivated hate speech is prevalent, particularly online, and primarily targeting the Muslim and Jewish communities.International Religious Freedom Report 2017 Norway, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
The origins of the modern Kingdom of Norway can be traced to the kingdoms established by Vikings during the Middle Ages. During this period, Norwegian kings such as Olaf II of Norway converted to Christianity, and propagated it within their kingdoms to reify their authority. Accounts from this time period include graphic descriptions of gruesome torture perpetrated against pagans who refused to convert. The Catholic Church in Norway was replaced by Evangelical Lutheranism during the Reformation in the 16th century, and non-Protestants were persecuted. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Norway (under either a Danish or Swedish crown) forced the Sámi people of northeastern Scandinavia to convert to Christianity, suppressing and eventually all but eradicating their indigenous religion. Jews were at times tolerated in Norway, but in 1814 a new constitution banned Jews from the country––this provision was reversed in 1851, and by the end of the 19th century Norway would be home to a few thousand Jews. This population was devastated in the 1940s during the German occupation of Norway as part of World War II and the Holocaust. Toward the end of the 20th century and in the 21st, the Norwegian government has adopted some constitutional reforms to recognize the traditions of the Sámi people, to establish a separation between church and state, and to provide financial restitution for the Jewish community, but it has also imposed religious clothing bans targeting Muslim women.
In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.
Demographics According to Statistics Norway, , 70 percent of the population belonged to the Church of Norway, an Evangelical Lutheran church, which comprises a decline of 3 percent over the three prior years. 6.7 percent of the population belong to other Christian denominations, of which the Roman Catholic Church is the largest, with 3 percent of the population. Muslims comprise 3.2 percent of the population. Pentecostals, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, and Jews each make up less than 1 percent of the population. 1.8 percent of the population participates in life-stance organizations (nonreligious or philosophical communities with organizational ethics based on humanist values), with the Norwegian Humanist Association being the largest.
Immigrants comprise the majority of members of religious groups outside the Church of Norway. Immigrants from Poland and the Philippines have increased the number of Catholics, while those from such countries as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia have increased the size of the Muslim community. Catholics and Muslims generally have greater representation in cities than in rural areas. Muslims are located throughout the country, with the population concentrated in the Oslo region. Many recent immigrants from Muslim majority countries still reside in asylum reception centers. According to Norwegian Directorate of Immigration statistics, approximately 5,600 of the 6,300 persons residing in reception centers as of October 2017 come from Muslim majority countries.
History
Unification and Christianization of the Kingdom of Norway (10th c. CE – 1103)
While a unified Kingdom of Norway was first created by the pseudo-mythical Harald Fairhair in the 9th or 10th century, Norway's unity was short-lived in this era, and the foundation of the modern state of Norway is identified as having been the product of Viking leaders such as Olaf Tryggvason, Olaf Haraldson, and Harald Hardrada. The wealth accrued by these rulers in raids against the British Isles and other targets greatly expanded the power of the Norwegian ruling class and allowed for the establishment of a unified kingdom in Norway. While Christianity had been present in Norway dating back at least to the rule of Haakon the Good (c. 920–961), the first king to attempt to convert Norway to Christianity, successful attempts to formally incorporate Norway as a Christian kingdom and the complete conversion of its population did not occur until the 1000s at the earliest. Accounts from this time period are not entirely reliable, but certain details are consistent. Olaf Tryggvason is recorded in posthumous, sympathetic accounts as having forced pagan nobles to convert on pain of gruesome torture or death; less sympathetic accounts do not include attestations of torture, which may suggest that extreme violence in the service of religious conversion was viewed as a positive trait by such sources. It is theorized that a primary motivation for the promotion of Christianity by Norway's early kings was to use Christianity as a justification for their centralized, hierarchical rule, establishing a centralized Christian monarchy justified by divine right to replace the older, pagan power structure of charismatic authority.
Reign of Olaf Haraldson (1015–1028)
Traditional Norwegian historiography credits Olaf Haraldson as the leader of the Christianization of Norway,Karen Larsen, A History of Norway (Princeton University Press: Princeton, 1948) pp. 95–101. and he was consequently canonized as a saint.Margaret Clunies Ross, ' Reginnaglar ', in News from Other Worlds/Tíðendi ór ǫðrum heimum: Studies in Nordic Folklore, Mythology and Culture in Honor of John F. Lindow, ed. by Merrill Kaplan and Timothy R. Tangherlini, Wildcat Canyon Advanced Seminars Occasional Monographs, 1 (Berkeley, CA: North Pinehurst Press, 2012), pp. 3–21 (p. 4); . More recent historical research throws doubt on this narrative, suggesting that many of the milestones of Christianization (as well as accounts of saintly miracles) associated with Haraldson's rule were attributed to him posthumously.Lund, Niels. "Scandinavia, c. 700–1066." The New Cambridge Medieval History. Ed. Rosamond McKitterick. Cambridge University Press, 1995. Some scholars have cast doubt on the sincerity of Haraldson's Christianity, suggesting instead that Christianity was established in Norway (as well as the rest of Scandinavia) through a long process of slow assimilation of individual Christian practices, rather than sudden mass conversions from paganism.Winroth, Anders. The Conversion of Scandinavia. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012.
North Sea Empire (1028–1047)
King Cnut the Great, who ruled Norway as well as England and Denmark in what is known as the North Sea Empire, went to great lengths to improve his realm's relations with the Catholic Church and European Christian kingdoms.Lawson, Cnut, pp. 139–47 However, it is unclear the extent to which this was motivated by religious zeal, as opposed to political pragmatism. In addition to his extensive support for the Church, he also held respect for pagan traditions in his empire.Trow, Cnut, p.129
Harald Hardrada (1046–1066)
Following the death of Magnus the Good, Norway was once again a unitary kingdom, ruled by Harald Hardrada. Hardrada cultivated a public reputation as a supporter of the Catholic Church, and advanced the propagation of Christianity in Norway through the construction of many new churches.DeVries (1999) pp. 47–48 Unlike his predecessors, who primarily propagated Christianity by importing clergy from Western Europe, Hardrada sought out clergy from the Kievan Rus' and the Byzantine Empire. Representatives of the Catholic Church raised protest in response to these appointments, and Hardrada responded by throwing all Catholic clergy out of his court, reportedly declaring himself to be a higher authority than any religious representative in Norway. Such actions have been characterized by scholars as being similar to those of Byzantine rulers, and are attributed to his experiences there in the Varangian Guard.
Adoption of Catholic Church norms (1067–1103)
The rift with the Catholic Church established by Hardrada was mended by Olaf III, who recognized the religious authority of the Archbishopric of Bremen over Norway. Olaf III's reign would also focus on the expansion of the organizational structure of the Catholic Church in Norway. His successor, Magnus Barefoot, would continue to expand the church's organization, and brought the Norwegian Kingdom's relationship with the Church to be more in line with the model espoused by other Catholic European kingdoms. Magnus retained de facto authority over the church in Norway.Førsund (2012) pp. 88–91
Medieval Norway (1103–1523)
The Norwegian and Swedish Crusade (1103–1130)
Following the death of Magnus Barefoot, Norway was ruled jointly by his sons, Sigurd and Eystein (a third son, Olav Magnusson, died before adulthood). Sigurd became the first European king to lead a crusade, departing for Palestine in the Norwegian Crusade in 1103 to support the Kingdom of Jerusalem and returning to Norway in 1111.Gary B. Doxey (1996), "Norwegian Crusaders and the Balearic Islands" , Scandinavian Studies, 10–1. In 1123, Sigurd led the Kalmare ledung, a crusade to Christianize the Swedish province of Småland by force.Lagerqvist, Lars: "Sverige och dess regenter under 1000 år" Bonniers förlags AB 1982. Eystein primarily directed domestic affairs, and continued to expand church infrastructure in Norway, as well as establishing the practice of church tithe.
Civil war, High Middle Ages, Black Death, and Kalmar Union (1130–1523)
From 1130 to 1217, Norway suffered a period of on-and-off civil war. While the most immediate cause of these conflicts was a lack of clarity in Norwegian succession laws, the Church would eventually come to be an important power broker in the conflict, taking sides in an attempt to increase its influence over the monarchy.Stenersen p. 38 This period of instability ended in 1217 with the appointment of Haakon IV of Norway,Stenersen p. 39 who eventually reached a compromise with the Church in which the Church recognized his authority and allowed him to deviate from Catholic succession practices, while Haakon granted the church significant autonomy over its internal affairs and over rural society. During Haakon's reign, pagan Karelian tribes were forced to enter Norway due to the Mongolian invasion of their own lands. Haakon allowed the Karelians to settle in the lands surrounding the Malangen fjord on the condition that they converted to Christianity.Helle, 1995, p. 198.
During the reign of Magnus VI, Norway's laws were further reformed. Despite the king's personal piety, such reforms brought him in conflict with the Church. The Tønsberg Concord of 1277 established a compromise, retaining certain privileges for the Church, while forcing the Church to renounce its claim that the Kingdom of Norway was a fiefdom of the Church.
In 1349, the Black Death reached Norway, killing a third of its population within a year. This sudden demographic change depleted the tax base of Norway's aristocracy,Stenersen p. 44 consequently making the Church increasingly powerful.Stenersen p. 45 Such gains by the Church were later reversed by Margaret I during her rule over the Kalmar Union, which combined the crowns of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.