The Swedish church in Oslo gets 90 percent of its revenue from the Norwegian government. From Sweden they get nothing.
With over 22,000 members and 900 per member, the church receives almost 20 million NOK in public support, Aftenposten writes.
– This amounts to over 90 percent of our revenue. It’s a very generous scheme, says vicar Per Anders Sandgren, who state that they do not get anything in support of Sweden.
Norway has a similar church in Sweden, Crown Princess Märtha’s church in Stockholm, but the public schemes there are not as generous.
– We receive around 800,000 Swedish kronor in funding from two government sources, explains Leif Tyrstad, who is chairman of the parish council in Crown Princess Märtha’s Church.
The scheme in Norway will now be looked into, but it is uncertain whether it will be tightened.
– The scheme we have in Norway is very generous. It is based on a desire to treat all religious communities equally so that all religious communities receive the same. So, we intend to review the scheme next year, after the church and state have been oficially separated, Bård Folke Fredriksen (H), Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture, says.
The number of members in Oslo in the Swedish church have grown enormously in recent years, and because of this the revenues have increased. The reason for the membership growth is that Swedes who move to Norway automatically are enrolled in the Church of Sweden.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
