Rev. Dr. Kobia, Dr. Gnanadason, Mr. Peiponen, dear friends.

First of all, dr. Kobia; on behalf of the Minister of Culture and Church Affairs, mrs. Valgerd Svarstad Haugland and my colleague State Secretary, mrs Berit Øksnes Gjerløw, let me express their gratitude for the meeting in Geneva in May 2004, when they got a survey of the “life and works” of the World Council on Churches, the Lutheran World Federation and the ACT. It is a visit they remember with gratitude. Our world needs multilateral knowledge, acknowledgment and cooperation, and these organizations contribute heavily.
I have been asked to give a short talk on the politics of religion in Norway. A short talk means that a lot of things will have to be left out, but I will try to give you some brief outlines.

State and Church
The Norwegian Constitution from 1814 states that, “all citizens shall enjoy the right to free exercise of religion” and “the Evangelical-Lutheran Confession is the official religion of the state”. The King is Head of the Church of Norway and the King executes this function through the Government. Competence on worship and liturgy is delegated to the General Synod. This is further established in the Religious Communities Act of 1969 and in the Church Act of 1996. The Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs is responsible for these laws. The Church of Norway has its own public administration.

The Christian faith has given fundamental impacts in our country for more than thousand years. Our politics of religion recognize and support this cultural and spiritual heritage.

From 1536 the population of Norway was homogeneously Evangelical Lutheran, belonging to the State Church of Norway. Still a state-church by law and with 86 % of the population as members, we see the world and our country change, and that we increasingly have to review religious affairs and church affairs as a coherent whole. In this period the church-organization and the politics of religion have been under debate. This debate has provided religious communities rights and equal economic status, and it has provided the Church of Norway with increased self-government. Consequently, debate has led to the founding of two increasingly important bodies during the last decade: Christian Council of Norway and Council for Religious and Life Stance Communities.

In 2003 the Government appointed a committee to consider whether the Church of Norway is to continue its present organization, should be developed as a state church or as a Church in her own right. The report is to be ready at the end of this year.

Support for all religious and life-stance communities.
There is no religious tax in Norway. All religious and life stance communities are funded through public budgets, - and contributions from members. Religious and secular communities outside the Church of Norway are granted the same financial support per member as the Church receives. This financial support differs from arrangements in other Nordic countries or other countries with close connection between church and state and is fundamental in our politics on religion.

Religious education
Our Government considers tolerance and dialog to be important values in building a peaceful multicultural society. Therefore, we want to stimulate the dialog between different religions and life stances. Religious teaching and development of confident religious identity are fundamental for such dialog. The state-church system involved confessional religious education in public schools up to 1969 and to some extent to 1997, when it became thoroughly secularized, aiming to support homes from all religions and life stances equally in their upbringing of children. The Church of Norway has therefore reformed its educational program. This reform passed Parliament two years ago and was supplied with financial support, as you probably have heard earlier today. Due to our financial support the right of every child to be educated in his or her own religion or life stance is actively supported.

Finally: an actual example of our policy of religion
The urge for common public memorial ceremonies following the Tsunamicatastrophe in South- East Asia illustrates the need to find multicultural public expressions in Norway today. Traditionally, public memorial services have taken place within the frames of the Church of Norway alone. The need for an additional joint expression of grief was accentuated by the number of casualties from different cultures and religions. It was important to the Government that all religions, life stances and cultures were acknowledged in their joint sorrow, expressing the fact that we live in a world in need of understanding across established cultural and religious lines. So, for the first time in our country, such an arrangement was part of the public ceremonies.

Exchanging knowledge and points of view are increasingly important; in politics, between churches and between different ethnological cultures and religions.

General Secretary Olav Fykse Tveit and the Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations: - thank you for hosting this lunch, bringing together the leadership of the different ecumenical organizations and church communities in our country.