Most Norwegians do not believe in God, new survey shows

Church Nidaros chatedralPhoto: Gorm Kallestad / NTB

51% of Norwegians say they do not believe in God, according to a new survey from Ipsos. The Church of Norway believes that a yes or no approach to the question is too narrow.

Most Norwegians answered “no” to the question, “Do you believe in God?”

In the large social survey Norwegian Monitor 2022 by Ipsos, Norway’s residents have been asked the same question since 1985.

“The survey shows the Norwegian population’s attitudes to faith. A steady development since 1985 shows a decrease in the proportion of those who believe in God in Norway,” project manager John Spilling in Ipsos told NTB.

For the first time, more than half of the population answered that they do not believe in God.

A total of 3,537 people participated in the survey, which was conducted from October 2021 to March 2022.

Church of Norway: Problematic wording

Olav Fykse Tveit, Preses of the Bishops’ Conference of the Church of Norway (DNK), believes that the wording of the question is too narrow for people’s actual attitude to faith to emerge.

“Faith can be expressed in many ways, through practice, through fundamental values, through belonging to tradition, culture, and history, without people wanting to describe it as their personal faith,” he told NTB.

Fykse Tveit believes that the reason why fewer people say they believe in God today is linked to people generally becoming more distant. 

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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1 Comment on "Most Norwegians do not believe in God, new survey shows"

  1. I used to think that “God” was just the abstract Force in the universe impersonally determining our environmental survival.
    However, I’ve had in a couple cases downright shocking personal experiences which have convinced me I have been *personally* Answered … always for the sake of someone I love … the VERY few times I have asked His intervention.
    And some of my best childhood memories are from Sunday School where we were taught to believe in – and live – the Good. And then there are the Christmas Eve candlelighting ceremonies and ….
    It is TRAGIC, if children are denied that mental/emotional wellbeing and happiness for any (ideological) reason.

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