Heddal Stave Church. Photo: Christian Borchsenius
Young people are being drawn to the Church. The number of those baptised before their confirmation has increased by 83 per cent over the past decade. Experts disagree over how strong the “Christianity wave” really is.
Nationwide, just under 1,800 young people were baptised before confirmation last year, according to figures NRK has obtained from the Church of Norway (Den norske kirke). That represents an increase of 18 per cent compared with the previous year, and 83 per cent more than ten years ago.
– The Bible says that the right person to follow is Jesus. Being baptised is the first step, says 14-year-old Johannes Schwenk from Nærbø in Jæren, who was baptised on 5 March this year and confirmed two months later.
– I did it to make a Christian choice. Adult baptism is a bit better, because then you have to make the choice to be a Christian yourself, instead of other people carrying you forward when you are only a couple of months old.
Young people are being drawn to religion because today’s youth experience the Church in a new way, believes Professor Tomas Sundnes Drønen of VID Specialized University in Stavanger.
– Young people today do not have the same apprehension towards Christianity that perhaps my generation had. They have a more open mind and have grown up without a Christianity or religion that they perceive as something negative, he tells NRK.
However, surveys by the Institute for Church, Religion and Worldview Research (KIFO) show a general decline in religious belief in Norway.
– The overall picture is that secularisation continues in Norway, but it may be beginning to level off somewhat or decline slightly, says Director of Research Sven Thore Kloster.
Kloster believes the increase is due to fewer children being baptised in infancy, perhaps because parents increasingly want their children to decide for themselves.
The free churches (frikirker) in particular are experiencing a large influx of young people seeking Jesus and God. The Church of Norway, by contrast, is experiencing a decline in membership.
Unge folk strømmer til kristne frimenigheter: –⁠ Møkklei pride
Some suspect this is because the Church has transformed itself into a political activist organisation, heavily influenced by its celebration of Pride, “anti-racism”, hostility towards Israel, and other aspects of the established woke culture. This is a trend that today’s young people, especially young men, grew tired of several years ago.
The Church of Norway sides with asylum seekers in immigration policy and with the gender-confused in LGBTQ ideology. Jesus appears to be of less interest to many modern-day priests. We even have priests who have refused to officiate at weddings between a man and a woman.
Our politicians are seldom seen in churches, but regularly visit mosques. Yet the real new religion is climate.