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Amid deep red curtains at a leading Oslo LGBTQ+ venue, the Norwegian Lutheran Church issued a formal apology for hurtful actions and exclusion perpetrated over the years.

“The national church has brought LGBTQ+ individuals harm, suffering and humiliation,” the presiding bishop, the church leader, declared during a Thursday event. “This ought not to have occurred and which is the reason today I say sorry.”

“Harassment, discrimination and unfair treatment” resulted in certain individuals abandoning their faith, the bishop admitted. A worship service at Oslo Cathedral was planned to follow his apology.

The statement of regret took place at the London Pub, one of two bars attacked during the 2022 violent incident that resulted in two deaths and injured nine people severely during Oslo’s Pride celebrations. A Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, received a sentence to at least 30 years in incarceration for the murders.

Like many religions around the world, the Church of Norway – a Protestant Lutheran denomination that is the most extensive faith community in the country – historically excluded LGBTQ+ people, preventing them from serving as pastors or from marrying in religious ceremonies. Back in the 1950s, the church’s bishops referred to homosexual individuals as “a worldwide social threat”.

But as Norwegian society became increasingly liberal, emerging as the world's second to legalize same-sex partnerships during 1993 and by 2009 the initial Nordic nation to approve gay marriage, the religious institution eventually adapted.

Back in 2007, the Norwegian Lutheran Church commenced the ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy, and same-sex couples were permitted to have church weddings starting in 2017. During 2023, the bishop took part in the Oslo Pride event in what was noted as an unprecedented step for the church.

The Thursday statement of regret elicited a mixed reaction. The leader of an organization of Christian lesbians in Norway, Hanne Marie, who is also a gay pastor, called it “a significant step toward healing” and an occasion that “represented the closure of a dark chapter in the church’s history”.

As stated by Stephen Adom, the leader of the Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Norway, the apology was “powerful and significant” but had come “overdue for individuals who lost their lives to AIDS … carrying heavy hearts since the church viewed the crisis to be God’s punishment”.

Worldwide, several faith-based organizations have tried to reconcile for historical treatment concerning the LGBTQ+ community. Last year, the Anglican Church said sorry for what it described as “shameful” actions, though it continues to refuse to allow same-sex marriages in religious settings.

Similarly, the Methodist Church in Ireland in the past year apologised 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.

Earlier this year, Canada's United Church issued an apology to two spirit and LGBTQIA+ communities, describing it as a confirmation of its “pledge to complete acceptance and open hospitality” in all aspects of church life.

“We have not succeeded to celebrate and delight in the wonderful diversity of creation,” Michael Blair, the general secretary of the church, remarked. “We have hurt individuals instead of seeking wholeness. We express our regret.”