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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.
Religion in Norway is dominated by Lutheran Christianity, with 63.7% of the population belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway in 2022. [1] [2] The Catholic Church is the next largest Christian church at 3.1%. [3] The unaffiliated make up 18.3% of the population. Islam is followed by 3.4% of the population. [4
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. [2]
Norway is a comparatively secular nation [1] [2] [3] which no longer has a state religion, though 68.7% of the 5.4 million population belong to the Church of Norway. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] A partial explanation for the high membership is that by law [ 7 ] all children who have at least one parent who is a member, automatically become members.
The history of Christianity in Norway started in the Viking Age in the 9th century. Trade, plundering raids, and travel brought the Norsemen into close contacts with Christian communities, but their conversion only started after powerful chieftains decided to receive baptism during their stay in England or Normandy.
There are also large Christian communities in other parts of the world, such as Indonesia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and West Africa where Christianity is the second-largest religion after Islam. The United States has the largest Christian population in the world, followed by Brazil, Mexico, Russia, and the Philippines. [12]
The Reformation in Norway was accomplished by force in 1537 when Christian III of Denmark and Norway declared Lutheranism as the official religion of Norway and Denmark, sending the Roman Catholic archbishop, Olav Engelbrektsson, into exile in Lier in the Netherlands (now in Belgium). Catholic priests were persecuted, monastic orders were ...
In 1845, with the passing of the Dissenter Act, most restrictions on non-Lutheran Christian denominations were lifted, and Catholics were now allowed to practice their religion freely and invite most religious orders to settle in the country. [3] However, members of the Society of Jesus would not be allowed to enter Norway until 1956. [4]