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Against red stage curtains at one of Oslo’s most prominent LGBTQ+ spaces, the Church of Norway offered an apology for discrimination and harm caused by the church.

“The church in Norway has caused LGBTQ+ people pain, shame and significant harm,” the lead bishop, the church leader, announced during a Thursday event. “This should never have happened and this is why I offer my apology now.”

“Unequal treatment, harassment and discrimination” led to a loss of faith for some, the bishop admitted. A religious service at Oslo's main cathedral was scheduled to take place after his statement.

The statement of regret was delivered at the London Pub, one of two bars attacked during the 2022 attack that killed two people and caused serious injuries to nine throughout the Oslo Pride festivities. 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 carrying out the attacks.

In common with various worldwide religions, the Norwegian Lutheran Church – a Lutheran evangelical community that is the most extensive faith community in the country – had long marginalised LGBTQ+ people, refusing to allow them from joining the clergy or to marry in church. Back in the 1950s, church leaders described gay people as “a global-scale societal hazard”.

But as Norwegian society became increasingly liberal, ranking as the second globally to permit registered partnerships for same-sex couples in 1993 and during 2009 the initial Nordic nation to legalize same-sex marriage, the church slowly followed.

In 2007, Norway's church commenced the ordination of homosexual ministers, and LGBTQ+ partners could marry in church starting in 2017. In 2023, Tveit joined in the Oslo Pride event in what was described as a historic moment for the religious institution.

The apology on Thursday was met with differing opinions. The head of a network of Christian lesbians in Norway, Hanne Marie, a lesbian minister herself, called it “an important reparation” and a point in time that “represented the closure of a difficult period in the church’s history”.

As stated by Stephen Adom, the director of Norway’s Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the apology was “strong and important” but was delivered “too late for those who lost their lives to AIDS … with deep sorrow in their hearts as the church regarded the epidemic to be God’s punishment”.

Internationally, a few churches have tried to make amends for historical treatment concerning the LGBTQ+ community. During 2023, England's church apologised for what it characterized as its “shameful” treatment, even as it persists in refusing to permit gay marriages within the church.

Similarly, the Methodist Church in Ireland the previous year expressed regret for “shortcomings in pastoral care and support” regarding the LGBTQ+ community and family members, but stayed firm in its belief that marriage could only be a bond between male and female.

Several months ago, the United Church of Canada offered an apology toward Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ individuals, characterizing it as a reaffirmation of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” in all aspects of church life.

“We have failed to celebrate and delight in the wonderful diversity of creation,” Michael Blair, the church's general secretary, remarked. “We have hurt individuals instead of seeking wholeness. We express our regret.”