25,743 members resigned from the Norwegian Church in August. The director of the National Council of Church says this is a high number.
24,653 of those who have resigned, did it electronically by using the new digital tool that was launched on August 15th. In the same period 1,272 people joined the church – 1177 of those electronically, according to the Norwegian Church.
Leading bishop of the Norwegian churches episcopal meeting, Helga Haugland Byfuglien, will not call this a member’s decline.
– The number of resignations must be seen in context of the large number who are members of the Norwegian Church, said Byfuglien.
She says the new digital tool for registration and withdrawal were made very well-known through the media therefore that they were prepared for a significant number of resignations.
– We have great respect for the individual’s choice, she says.
Director Jens-Petter Johnsen of the Church Council says to Dagen that 25,000 is a high number.
– We expect and anticipate that the numbers resigning will go down dramatically when the focus on this will be less prominent in the media, says Johnsen.
The Norwegian Church has 3.9 million members, including members living abroad. So far this year, the Norwegian Church received a total of 34,331 resignations and 2035 enrollments.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
