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Amid red stage curtains at one of Oslo’s most prominent LGBTQ+ spaces, the Norwegian Lutheran Church issued a formal apology for hurtful actions and exclusion it had inflicted.

“The national church has brought LGBTQ+ people harm, suffering and humiliation,” the lead bishop, Bishop Tveit, stated during a Thursday event. “It was wrong for this to take place and this is why I apologise today.”

“Harassment, discrimination and unfair treatment” resulted in certain individuals abandoning their faith, Tveit acknowledged. A worship service at the cathedral in Oslo was scheduled to come after the apology.

This formal apology occurred at the London Pub, a bar that was one of two targeted in the 2022 shooting that resulted in two deaths 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 no less than 30 years in incarceration for the killings.

Similar to numerous global faiths, the Norwegian Lutheran Church – a Protestant Lutheran denomination that is the biggest religious group in Norway – for years sidelined LGBTQ+ people, refusing to allow them from joining the clergy or to marry in church. Back in the 1950s, church leaders characterized LGBTQ+ persons as a “social danger of global proportions”.

Yet, with Norwegian society turning more progressive, emerging as the world's second to permit registered partnerships for same-sex couples in 1993 and by 2009 the initial Nordic nation to allow same-sex marriage, the church slowly followed.

In 2007, the Church of Norway commenced the ordination of gay pastors, and LGBTQ+ partners were permitted to marry in church starting in 2017. During 2023, Tveit participated in the Pride march in Oslo in what was described as a historic moment for the religious institution.

The Thursday statement of regret elicited varied responses. The head of a network representing Norwegian Christian lesbians, Pedersen-Eriksen, who is also a gay pastor, called it “a crucial act of amends” and an occasion that “signaled the conclusion of a difficult period in the church’s history”.

According to Stephen Adom, the leader of the Norwegian Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the apology represented “meaningful and vital” but was delivered “overdue for individuals who passed away from AIDS … with hearts filled with anguish because the church considered the epidemic to be God’s punishment”.

Internationally, several faith-based organizations have attempted to reconcile for their past behavior regarding LGBTQ+ individuals. During 2023, the Anglican Church said sorry for what it referred to as “shameful” actions, even as it continues to refuse to authorize same-sex weddings in church.

Similarly, Ireland's Methodist Church the previous year expressed regret for “shortcomings in pastoral care and support” toward LGBTQ+ individuals and family members, but stayed firm in the view that matrimony must only constitute a bond between male and female.

Several months ago, the United Church of Canada issued an apology to two spirit and LGBTQIA+ communities, describing it as a reaffirmation of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” in every part of the church's activities.

“We did not manage to rejoice and take pleasure in the wonderful diversity of creation,” Michael Blair, the church's general secretary, stated. “We have hurt individuals instead of seeking wholeness. We express our regret.”