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Amid deep red curtains at a leading Oslo LGBTQ+ venue, the Norwegian Lutheran Church expressed regret for harm and unequal treatment perpetrated over the years.

“Norway's church has caused LGBTQ+ people pain, shame and significant harm,” bishop Olav Fykse Tveit, the church leader, stated on Thursday. “It was wrong for this to take place and which is the reason today I say sorry.”

“Unequal treatment, harassment and discrimination” had caused certain individuals abandoning their faith, the bishop admitted. A religious service at Oslo's main cathedral was planned to follow his apology.

The apology occurred at a venue called London Pub, a bar that was one of two targeted in the 2022 violent incident that resulted in two deaths and left nine seriously injured during Oslo’s Pride celebrations. A Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, who swore loyalty to Islamic State, received a sentence to no less than 30 years behind bars for carrying out the attacks.

In common with various worldwide religions, the Church of Norway – a Protestant Lutheran denomination that is the biggest religious group in Norway – historically excluded LGBTQ+ individuals, refusing to allow them from serving as pastors or to have church weddings. In the 1950s, the church’s bishops described gay people as a “social danger of global proportions”.

But as Norwegian society became increasingly liberal, ranking as the second globally to permit registered partnerships for same-sex couples during 1993 and in 2009 the first Scandinavian country to legalize same-sex marriage, the church gradually changed.

Back in 2007, the Norwegian Lutheran Church commenced the ordination of gay pastors, and same-sex couples were permitted to get married in religious ceremonies starting in 2017. During 2023, Tveit participated in the Pride march in Oslo in what was called an unprecedented step for the church.

Thursday’s apology was met with varied responses. The head of a network of Christian lesbians in Norway, Pedersen-Eriksen, herself a gay pastor, described it as “a crucial act of amends” and a moment that “signaled the conclusion of a difficult period in the history of the church”.

According to Stephen Adom, the head of the Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Norway, the statement was “meaningful and vital” but had come “overdue for individuals who passed away from AIDS … carrying heavy hearts since the church viewed the epidemic as punishment from God”.

Worldwide, several faith-based organizations have sought to make amends for their past behavior concerning the LGBTQ+ community. In 2023, the Anglican Church apologised for what it characterized as “shameful” actions, even as it continues to refuse to authorize same-sex weddings within the church.

Similarly, the Methodist Church in Ireland last year expressed regret for its “failures in pastoral support and care” toward LGBTQ+ individuals and their families, but remained staunch in the view that marriage should only represent a union between a man and a woman.

Earlier this year, Canada's United Church issued an apology to Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ groups, characterizing it as a reaffirmation of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” throughout every area 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 caused pain to people instead of seeking wholeness. We are sorry.”