(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
[14. March] On the one hand, one can say that this issue of state church should not be addressed right now. Not just before Easter, the most fundamental holiday of Christianity, this religion from Western Asia to which Norway has been associated for the last thousand years.
On the other hand, it is right now, in the spring of 2008, that the fateful fate itself stands for the Norwegian state's connection to the religious. And that is precisely why this delicate topic should be raised right now. After Easter, the state-church report will be presented to the Storting. At the same time, new purpose clauses for schools and kindergartens must be considered. While the content of the new subject Religion, Philosophy and Ethics (REL) will be adopted, as a replacement for the ten-year-old KRL subject – which last year was ruled by the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg.
In short: it is now happening. Easter 2008 will constitute the resting ground before the battle for Norway's self-image begins.
The relationship between state and church is not something that only concerns atheists, believers or especially interested. The question should concern everyone living in Norway, as well as some outside. Official Norway's relationship with the secular and religious says something about what kind of society we want to create going forward in that 21. century. It is the identity of the entire Norwegian state that must now be decided.
This spirit struggle materialized this week in the battle for a diocesan appointment in Trondheim. On Sunday, it became clear that Prost Tor Singsaas won the church's first round of voting to become a new bishop in Nidaros from June 1. But Culture and Church Minister Trond Giske (Ap) could say that he and the government will also have to pay attention to the gender balance. That is, Chaplain Berit Lånke is still the current diocesan candidate, even though she was "only" number two among ward councils and priests. The Nidaros nomination is again linked to the gender balance in the upcoming bisque appointments on Møre and in Bjørgvin.
And that was how it could go on. In isolation, the various parties probably have good arguments for their candidates. But in sum, this eternal, years-long battle between the government and the church destroys all parties. The problem is not which bishop is ultimately elected. The problem is that the state and the government have something to do with this matter.
In a modern, democratic and rational society, the state should not be able to be associated with one faith or one view of life more than others. In countries with which it is natural to compare Norway – such as India, Sweden and Canada – it would be inconceivable for the state to appoint religious leaders. If this were to be logical, the Stoltenberg government would also have to appoint leaders for the country's Jews and Muslims. But then the appointments would more obviously be strikingly reminiscent of what China is doing, when the government there chooses who they want to be the spiritual head of the Tibetans.
All parties benefit from the fact that Norway, which is formally one of the most non-secular of the democratic countries, also breaks its ties with the church and chooses secularism as a form of state. Signs in time suggest that this will not happen at first. Old habit is a pain to turn around. And both the Labor Party, the Center Party and the KrF, for various reasons, want today's state religion to continue.
But this is not about what kind of church we want. Rather, what kind of state we want. Last week's political turnaround shows how unfortunate today's scheme is. On March 8, it became known that several of Ap's local politicians are now calling for closer cooperation with the KrF. The background is poor opinion polls for the red-green trio, which causes Ap to look for new partners to secure continued government power after the parliamentary elections next year.
But this is how political tactics can have a decisive influence on the state church debate after Easter. And it is a compound that no one makes.
Break the tapes. Make the state of life neutral. And Norway secular. Because we all deserve it.
New language police
[police language] A 48-year-old from Finnmark was this week acquitted of calling a cop "cock" under a traffic control. Police Chief Truls Fyhn reacts strongly to the acquittal, which he feels is "offensive".But at the same time, Fyhn defends the police official categorization of many Norwegians as "Negroes", a stamp that is far more offensive than a sleazy North Norwegian expression. On time with a competent language police?