Overview:

• State denomination is the Church of Norway as a form of Lutheranism.

• This creates a situation of partial recognition because no other group or denomination has the opportunity to gain the same level of recognition as Lutheranism in the country.

• Recognition and registration are differentiated with a focus on the latter for all non-Lutheran groups; there are two categories for legal registration: “religious organisations” and “life stance communities”.

• The term “life stance organisation”, similar to Iceland, is inclusive of all types of belief systems which shows dynamic character.

• Informational requirements for organisations receiving state subsidies seem appropriate but require continued monitoring.

• Religiously motivated hate speech disseminated online is directed particularly towards Muslims and Jews according to NGOs and the Norwegian Police Service.

Positive elements:

• The government provides sufficient financial support for the religious and life stance organisations present in the country.

Recommendations:

• Norway is fairly close to dynamic status except for the imbalance between the support it provides to the Church of Norway and other organisations in addition to existent policies such as membership quotas.

• Establish a recognition system that is able to provide existential recognition and legal registration to entities simultaneously and at different levels of activity and is inclusive of all belief systems.

• Establish a recognition agency to manage and deal with this recognition system in a way that is autonomous from state control in order to avoid corruption and politicisation of the recognition and registration procedures.