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Set against crimson theater drapes at a well-known Oslo location for LGBTQ+ gatherings, the Norwegian Lutheran Church issued a formal apology for discrimination and harm caused by the church.

“The church in Norway has caused LGBTQ+ individuals pain, shame and significant harm,” the presiding bishop, Olav Fykse Tveit, stated on Thursday. “It was wrong for this to take place and this is why I offer my apology now.”

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

The statement of regret took place at the London Pub, one among two bars involved in the 2022 attack that took two lives and caused serious injuries to nine at Oslo's Pride event. A Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, who swore loyalty to Islamic State, was given a prison term to a minimum of three decades behind bars for the killings.

Like many religions around the world, the Church of Norway – a Lutheran evangelical community that is Norway’s largest faith community – had long marginalised LGBTQ+ people, denying them the opportunity to become pastors or to marry in church. In the 1950s, church leaders referred to homosexual individuals as “a global-scale societal hazard”.

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

Back in 2007, the Norwegian Lutheran Church commenced the ordination of gay pastors, and LGBTQ+ partners could have church weddings since 2017. During 2023, the bishop took part in the Pride march in Oslo in what was noted as a first for the church.

The Thursday statement of regret received varied responses. The director of a group for Christian lesbians in Norway, Pedersen-Eriksen, who is also a gay pastor, referred to it as “a significant step toward healing” and a point in time that “finally marked the end of a painful era within the church's past”.

As stated by Stephen Adom, the leader of the Norwegian Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the apology represented “meaningful and vital” but had come “too late for those who lost their lives to AIDS … with deep sorrow in their hearts because the church considered the crisis as punishment from God”.

Internationally, a handful of religious institutions have attempted to offer apologies for historical treatment regarding LGBTQ+ individuals. Last year, the Church of England expressed regret for what it referred to as “disgraceful” conduct, although it persists in refusing to allow same-sex marriages within the church.

Likewise, the Methodist Church located in Ireland in the past year apologised for “shortcomings in pastoral care and support” regarding the LGBTQ+ community and their families, but stayed firm in its belief that marriage should only represent a bond between male and female.

Several months ago, the United Church based in Canada offered an apology to Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ groups, labeling it a renewed commitment of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” throughout every area of church life.

“We did not manage to celebrate and delight in all of your beautiful creation,” Reverend Blair, the top administrative leader of the church, stated. “We have wounded people rather than pursuing healing. We apologize.”