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Amid crimson theater drapes at one of Oslo’s most prominent LGBTQ+ spaces, the Church of Norway expressed regret for hurtful actions and exclusion perpetrated over the years.

“Norway's church has inflicted LGBTQ+ people shame, great harm and pain,” the lead bishop, Bishop Tveit, stated on Thursday. “It was wrong for this to take place and this is why I apologise today.”

“Unequal treatment, harassment and discrimination” led to some to lose their faith, Tveit acknowledged. A religious service at the cathedral in Oslo was arranged to follow his apology.

The apology took place at a venue called London Pub, one of two bars targeted in the 2022 violent incident that took two lives and left nine seriously injured at Oslo's Pride event. A Norwegian of Iranian origin, who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was given a prison term to at least 30 years in incarceration for the killings.

In common with various worldwide religions, Norway's church – a Protestant Lutheran denomination that is the most extensive faith community in the country – for years sidelined the LGBTQ+ community, refusing to allow them from serving as pastors or from marrying in religious ceremonies. During the 1950s, church leaders characterized LGBTQ+ persons as a “social danger of global proportions”.

Yet, with Norwegian society turning more progressive, becoming the second in the world to permit registered partnerships for same-sex couples during 1993 and by 2009 the first Scandinavian country to allow same-sex marriage, the church slowly followed.

In 2007, Norway's church commenced the ordination of gay pastors, and gay and lesbian couples have been able to have church weddings since 2017. During 2023, Tveit participated in the Oslo Pride event in what was noted as an unprecedented step for the church.

The Thursday statement of regret received a mixed reaction. The director of a group representing Norwegian Christian lesbians, Pedersen-Eriksen, herself a gay pastor, described it as “a crucial act of amends” and a moment that “signaled the conclusion of a dark chapter in the history of the church”.

For Stephen Adom, the leader of the Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Norway, the apology represented “powerful and significant” but was delivered “overdue for individuals who lost their lives to AIDS … carrying heavy hearts as the church regarded the disease to be God’s punishment”.

Internationally, a handful of religious institutions have attempted to reconcile for their actions concerning the LGBTQ+ community. During 2023, England's church expressed regret for what it referred to as “disgraceful” conduct, although it persists in refusing to permit gay marriages within the church.

Similarly, Ireland's Methodist Church last year issued an apology for “inadequate pastoral assistance and care” toward LGBTQ+ individuals and their families, but stayed firm in the view that marriage could only be a union between a man and a woman.

Earlier this year, Canada's United Church delivered a statement of regret toward Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ individuals, characterizing it as a confirmation of the church’s “commitment to radical hospitality and full inclusion” throughout every area of church life.

“We did not manage to honor and appreciate the wonderful diversity of creation,” Rev Michael Blair, the top administrative leader of the church, stated. “We caused pain to people instead of seeking wholeness. We are sorry.”