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Set against deep red curtains at a well-known Oslo location for LGBTQ+ gatherings, Norway's national church expressed regret for harm and unequal treatment perpetrated over the years.

“The national church has caused LGBTQ+ people pain, shame and significant harm,” the lead bishop, Olav Fykse Tveit, declared this Thursday. “This should never have happened and this is why I offer my apology now.”

The “discrimination, unequal treatment and harassment” had caused a loss of faith for some, Tveit acknowledged. A religious service at the cathedral in Oslo was planned to follow his apology.

This formal apology took place at a venue called London Pub, one among two bars targeted in the 2022 shooting 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 prison for the killings.

Similar to numerous global faiths, the Norwegian Lutheran Church – an evangelical Lutheran church that is the most extensive faith community in the country – historically excluded LGBTQ+ individuals, denying them the opportunity to become pastors or to have church weddings. In the 1950s, bishops of the church referred to homosexual individuals as “a worldwide social threat”.

But as Norwegian society became increasingly liberal, ranking as the second globally to allow same-sex registered partnerships during 1993 and during 2009 the first Scandinavian country to approve gay marriage, the religious institution eventually adapted.

During 2007, the Norwegian Lutheran Church commenced the ordination of gay pastors, and same-sex couples were permitted to have church weddings since 2017. In 2023, the bishop took part in Oslo’s Pride parade in what was called an unprecedented step for the church.

Thursday’s apology received varied responses. The director of a group of Christian lesbians in Norway, Hanne Marie Pedersen-Eriksen, who is also a gay pastor, called it “a significant step toward healing” and a point in time that “finally marked the end of a difficult period within the church's past”.

As stated by Stephen Adom, the director of the Norwegian Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the apology was “powerful and significant” but arrived “not in time for those among us who died of Aids … with deep sorrow in their hearts as the church regarded the crisis to be God’s punishment”.

Worldwide, several faith-based organizations have tried to reconcile for their actions regarding LGBTQ+ individuals. During 2023, the Anglican Church said sorry for what it characterized as its “shameful” treatment, though it continues to refuse to authorize same-sex weddings in church.

In a similar vein, the Methodist Church located in Ireland the previous year apologised for “inadequate pastoral assistance and care” regarding the LGBTQ+ community and family members, but remained staunch in its belief that marriage should only represent a union between a man and a woman.

Several months ago, the United Church of Canada issued an apology to Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ groups, characterizing it as a confirmation of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” in every part of the church's activities.

“We have failed to rejoice and take pleasure in the wonderful diversity of creation,” Michael Blair, the top administrative leader of the church, said. “We have hurt individuals in place of fostering completeness. We are sorry.”