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Against crimson theater drapes at a leading Oslo LGBTQ+ venue, the Norwegian Lutheran Church offered an apology for hurtful actions and exclusion it had inflicted.

“The national church has brought LGBTQ+ individuals shame, great harm and pain,” the lead bishop, the church leader, announced during a Thursday event. “This should never have happened and which is the reason I apologise today.”

“Harassment, discrimination and unfair treatment” had caused some to lose their faith, the bishop admitted. A worship service at Oslo's main cathedral was planned to take place after his statement.

This formal apology took place at a venue called London Pub, one among two bars targeted in the 2022 shooting that resulted in two deaths and caused serious injuries to nine at Oslo's Pride event. A Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, who swore loyalty to Islamic State, received a sentence to at least 30 years in incarceration for the killings.

Similar to numerous global faiths, the Norwegian Lutheran Church – a Lutheran evangelical community that is Norway’s largest faith community – for years sidelined the LGBTQ+ community, denying them the opportunity from serving as pastors or from marrying in religious ceremonies. Back in the 1950s, bishops of the church characterized LGBTQ+ persons as “a worldwide social threat”.

But as Norwegian society became increasingly liberal, emerging as the world's second to permit registered partnerships for same-sex couples in 1993 and during 2009 the first Scandinavian country to approve gay marriage, the religious institution eventually adapted.

In 2007, the Norwegian Lutheran Church began ordaining gay pastors, and same-sex couples were permitted to marry in church since 2017. In 2023, the bishop took part in the Pride march in Oslo in what was described as a first for the church.

The apology on Thursday elicited differing opinions. The head of a network of Christian lesbians in Norway, Hanne Marie Pedersen-Eriksen, who is also a gay pastor, referred to it as “a significant step toward healing” and a point in time that “signaled the conclusion of a difficult period in the church’s history”.

For Stephen Adom, the head of Norway’s Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the apology represented “strong and important” but was delivered “too late for those who passed away from AIDS … with deep sorrow in their hearts because the church considered the disease to be God’s punishment”.

Worldwide, a handful of religious institutions have attempted to make amends for their actions regarding LGBTQ+ individuals. In 2023, England's church apologised for what it characterized as “disgraceful” conduct, although it persists in refusing to permit gay marriages in religious settings.

Similarly, the Methodist Church located in Ireland in the past year apologised for “inadequate pastoral assistance and care” regarding the LGBTQ+ community and their families, but stayed firm in its conviction that matrimony must only constitute a bond between male and female.

Earlier this year, the United Church based in Canada delivered a statement of regret toward Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ individuals, labeling it a renewed commitment of its “pledge to complete acceptance and open hospitality” in every part of the church's activities.

“We have failed to rejoice and take pleasure in the beauty of all creation,” Rev Michael Blair, the top administrative leader of the church, stated. “We caused pain to people rather than pursuing healing. We express our regret.”