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Against crimson theater drapes at a leading Oslo LGBTQ+ venue, the Church of Norway issued a formal apology for harm and unequal treatment it had inflicted.

“Norway's church has inflicted LGBTQ+ people harm, suffering and humiliation,” the lead bishop, the church leader, declared on Thursday. “This ought not to have occurred and that is why I apologise today.”

“Harassment, discrimination and unfair treatment” resulted in a loss of faith for some, Tveit acknowledged. A religious service at the cathedral in Oslo was planned to follow his apology.

The apology took place at a venue called London Pub, one of two bars targeted in the 2022 shooting that resulted in two deaths and caused serious injuries to nine during Oslo’s Pride celebrations. An individual of Iranian descent living in Norway, who expressed support for ISIS, was given a prison term to a minimum of three decades in prison for carrying out the attacks.

In common with various worldwide religions, Norway's church – a Protestant Lutheran denomination that is Norway’s largest faith community – had long marginalised LGBTQ+ individuals, refusing to allow them from joining the clergy or to have church weddings. Back in the 1950s, church leaders described gay people as a “social danger of global proportions”.

But as Norwegian society became increasingly liberal, becoming the second in the world to allow same-sex registered partnerships during 1993 and in 2009 the first in Scandinavia to legalize same-sex marriage, the religious institution eventually adapted.

Back in 2007, the Norwegian Lutheran Church began ordaining homosexual ministers, and gay and lesbian couples have been able to get married in religious ceremonies starting in 2017. During 2023, the bishop took part in Oslo’s Pride parade in what was called a first for the church.

Thursday’s apology was met with differing opinions. The leader of an organization for Christian lesbians in Norway, Hanne Marie Pedersen-Eriksen, herself a gay pastor, described it as “a crucial act of amends” and a moment that “represented the closure of a difficult period within the church's past”.

For Stephen Adom, the director of the Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Norway, the statement was “meaningful and vital” but had come “too late for those among us who died of Aids … carrying heavy hearts as the church regarded the epidemic to be God’s punishment”.

Internationally, a handful of religious institutions have tried to reconcile for historical treatment concerning the LGBTQ+ community. Last year, the Anglican Church apologised for what it characterized as “disgraceful” conduct, though it persists in refusing to authorize same-sex weddings in religious settings.

Similarly, 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 should only represent a union between a man and a woman.

Earlier this year, Canada's United Church issued an apology to two spirit and LGBTQIA+ communities, describing it as a confirmation of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” throughout every area of church life.

“We did not manage to honor and appreciate the wonderful diversity of creation,” Michael Blair, the church's general secretary, remarked. “We caused pain to people rather than pursuing healing. We express our regret.”