There Will Be Some Changes Made

There are going to be some changes made in the history of Norway. A system that dates back to 1536 is on schedule to be changed by the Norwegian parliament ( storting), resulting in amendments to the constitution of the Kingdom of Norway. This constitution was laid down in 1814 by the Constituent Assembly in Eidsvoll, Noway. On May 21, 2012, The Norwegian parliament passed a constitutional amendment for the second time. Amendments must be brought up in separate sessions. The amendment will abolish the connection between Norway and the Church of Norway, removing the Evangelical Lutheran religion as the official religion . The constitution now states that Norway’s values are based on Christian and humanist heritage. This will require several changes in articles written into the constitution.The government will no longer appoint bishops as stated in Article Two: ”The king is the supreme governor and protector of the church, and decrees bishops while overseeing the church”, Now, the appointment of cathedral and district deans will be decreed by diocesan councils.The Storting will amend the constitution to read that Norway will no longer have an official religion, ending the 1,000-year tradition of the Church of Norway. However, the royal family will still be required to belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church!

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Christianity came to Norway as local kings and nobles, dating back to the Viking age, struggled to unite numerous and petty kingdoms into one single state. Although the Church of Norway traces back to the 9th century, Norway’s ties to religion varied for several hundred years until King Olav( Olaf) II, forcefully insisted that all would become Christians. The resistance was high until King Olaf II was killed in battle in 1030. Supernatural things began to happen as strange lights appeared over his secret grave and miracles began occurring. His enemies decided they had done wrong by killing their king and decided to take up his religion of Christianity.

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King Olav II was then buried under the floor of Nidaros Cathedral and Olav Haraldson was declared a saint in 1031. During his lifetime, he was known as “Olaf the Fat”, born in 995 A.D. and ruled Norway from 1015 to 1028 when he was exiled.Later he was considered the Patron Saint and “Eternal King" of Norway.

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Immigrants from Norway came to America and founded St. Olaf College in 1874 in Northfield, Minnesota. This group of farmers and pastors, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus, named the college after Olaf II of Norway It became a four-year private liberal-arts institution now known world-wide. At St Olav, the language requirement can be fulfilled by taking a course of the Norwegian language.

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The death of King Olav Haraldsson in 1030 marked a decisive step in the growth of both Norwegian national identity and of Christianity. Kingly power was always the supreme power and the tie between religion and government was a unifying power for the people. As time went on, Norwegians found their individual identities growing, and the church began to lose influence. As the population has grown, membership in the Church of Norway has decreased. Approximately 80% still profess to be Lutheran, however only 20% of those members say that religion occupies an important place in their lives, according to a recent Gallup poll.

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Once the constitutional amendments become finalized, the Constitution will no longer prescribe that “the Evangelical Lutheran religion should remain the state’s public religion” , but only that the state’s basis will be “Our Christian and Humanist heritage” according to a statement from Minister Rigmor Aastrud ( Labour Party). He went on to say ”I hope we have now prepared a good basis for the Church of Norway to be an open and inclusive national church in a multicultural-religious setting.”