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. This has been controversial, as many become members without knowing, and as this favours the Church of Norway over other churches, religions, lifestance organisations and over the unaffiliated. This law remained unchanged even after the separation of church and state in 2012.
- ^ "Beliefs about God across Time and Countries" (PDF). Norc.org. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- ^ "Religious communities and life stance communities - SSB". Ssb.no. 2015-01-01. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
- ^ "Beliefs about God across Time and Countries" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-07-04.
- ^ Church of Norway Statistics Norway 17.5.2020
- ^ "How important is christianity in Norway today?". NRK. March 20, 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-26.
- ^ "Population and population changes". Statistics Norway. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
- ^ "Lov om Den norske kirke (kirkeloven) - Lovdata". Retrieved 20 June 2015.