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Against deep red curtains at one of Oslo’s most prominent LGBTQ+ spaces, Norway's national church offered an apology for hurtful actions and exclusion perpetrated over the years.

“The church in Norway has inflicted the LGBTQ+ community harm, suffering and humiliation,” the lead bishop, Bishop Tveit, declared on Thursday. “This ought not to have occurred and this is why I apologise today.”

“Unequal treatment, harassment and discrimination” had caused a loss of faith for some, Tveit recognized. A worship service at the cathedral in Oslo was scheduled to follow his apology.

The statement of regret took place at the London Pub, one among two bars targeted in the 2022 violent incident that took two lives and caused serious injuries to nine during Oslo’s Pride celebrations. A Norwegian of Iranian origin, who swore loyalty to Islamic State, was sentenced to a minimum of three decades behind bars for carrying out the attacks.

In common with various worldwide religions, the Church of Norway – a Lutheran evangelical community that is Norway’s largest faith community – had long marginalised the LGBTQ+ community, refusing to allow them from joining the clergy or from marrying in religious ceremonies. Back in the 1950s, the church’s bishops referred to homosexual individuals as a “social danger of global proportions”.

But as Norwegian society became increasingly liberal, ranking as the second globally to allow same-sex registered partnerships in 1993 and in 2009 the first Scandinavian country to allow same-sex marriage, the church slowly followed.

Back in 2007, the Norwegian Lutheran Church commenced the ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy, and LGBTQ+ partners could marry in church from 2017 onward. Last year, the bishop took part in the Pride march in Oslo in what was described as a historic moment for the religious institution.

The apology on Thursday was met with differing opinions. The director of a group representing Norwegian Christian lesbians, Hanne Marie, herself a gay pastor, described it as “a significant step toward healing” and a point in time that “represented the closure of a dark chapter within the church's past”.

As stated by Stephen Adom, the leader of the Norwegian Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the statement was “powerful and significant” but arrived “not in time for those who lost their lives to AIDS … carrying heavy hearts because the church considered the crisis to be God’s punishment”.

Worldwide, several faith-based organizations have tried to offer apologies for historical treatment towards LGBTQ+ people. During 2023, the Church of England said sorry for what it referred to as its “shameful” treatment, though it still declines to authorize same-sex weddings in religious settings.

Similarly, Ireland's Methodist Church in the past year apologised for “shortcomings in pastoral care and support” toward LGBTQ+ individuals and family members, but held fast in the view that marriage could only be a partnership of one man and one woman.

In the early part of this year, the United Church based in Canada issued an apology to Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ groups, labeling it a renewed commitment of its “pledge to complete acceptance and open hospitality” in every part of the church's activities.

“We have failed to honor and appreciate all of your beautiful creation,” Reverend Blair, the top administrative leader of the church, stated. “We have hurt individuals rather than pursuing healing. We express our regret.”