(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Should the future of the state church be decided through an advisory referendum? Yes, believes the head of the church council, Thor Bjarne Bore, who says to Dagsavisen that such a vote should be considered if the state and the church itself do not agree on settlement. Previously, the Progress Party has tabled proposals in the Storting on referendum, without the support of the other parties. It is only in two years that the State / Church Committee presents its recommendation, which is when the question becomes relevant. The church's own committee, the Bakkevig committee, has recommended a separation, while the congregations have been negative. According to Aftenposten, it is also likely that a majority in the state / church committee will say yes to a distinction.
For us, it is beyond doubt that the state church system is not only an anachronism, but also a construction that cannot function in respect of human rights and religious freedom. It must therefore be up to the politicians to make the inevitable decision to abolish the state church system.
From liberal state church supporters, it has been argued that the state can virtually keep the church in its ears, and that the state church system is curbing conservative tendencies in the church. That is to say that the church's election is not a state responsibility, and that it cannot be higher than human rights.
We therefore agree with the Human-Ethical Federation, which argues that a referendum on the state church system itself conflicts with human rights. Every single minority view of life has rett to function in a society without a state religion, regardless of what the majority of the population may think. Although we have a relatively high belief that the population will make sensible choices in a referendum, it is in principle wrong to invite a vote where one possible outcome involves a violation of human rights.
Representative democracy has its greatest strength in the ability to make principled decisions that take into account minority groups in the population. In such matters, referendum should be out of date.
