For a long time, Simon Stisen struggled with his own approach. As a devout Christian, pastor for seven years and now a member of the Pentecostal church in Oslo, it has not always been easy to say that he is gay. But in recent years it has improved. Gay rights are discussed and steadily improved, and in June pride dominates the media image with colorful parades and gay fights. The fact that he is a Christian, on the other hand, is often more problematic when dealing with others. – It is more demanding, and I have received more negative reactions to the fact that I am a Christian than to the fact that I am gay. At the same time that gay rights have been flagged and demonstrated for many years, Simon Stisen believes that Christian people have been talked down in the media. Photo: Kasper Holgersen / news Was scolded for ten minutes This topic was taken up in a “Lytring”, which is a debate forum organized by Nord University. Stisen has seen a big change in how people, even in Christian circles, talk about homosexuals. – When the new marriage law was discussed, people talked about these things in a completely different way than they do today. There has been a change in society, and Christians who meet homosexuals have a completely different humility now than before, I think. Media coverage and homosexuals in popular culture have created a better understanding of the situation of homosexuals and improved living conditions, says Stisen. Simon Stisen wants to have more dialogue about Christianity and get rid of the prejudices against the religion. Photo: Privat That development, he believes, is going in the opposite direction for Christians. – There is not much talk about the Christian communities in the media, but when it does, it is often with a negative sign. He tells about an incident some time ago, which was particularly unpleasant. – I spoke to a person, and we got into the topic of work. I told them that I was a pastor, and that gays were not allowed to marry in my church. Then I was scolded for 10-15 minutes that I and my church are hateful and homophobic. I never got to break in and say I’m gay, I didn’t get that chance. When the scolding was finished, the person left. Stisen in no way denies that the Christian community has opposed the rights of homosexuals, and he welcomes criticism of religion. – But we must not get a black picture of the entire Christian community. I don’t want to praise the treatment of queers in a Christian environment, but I want to nuance it. I think more people recognize themselves. Figures from the Integration Barometer 2022 show that 20 per cent of the population are skeptical of people of Christian faith. When asked about attitudes towards “strongly believing Christians”, 55 per cent reply that they are skeptical. Kathrine Moen is an associate professor at Nord University and researches kindergarten teachers’ encounters with people who have values beyond their own. She says that Norway has gone through a strong secularisation, and that religion has been given an increasingly smaller place in society. – It is surprising, because the development has gone so fast. It is not many years or decades before we have to go back before the situation was completely opposite. Many will be able to recognize themselves in Simon’s story. Saying you are a Christian is associated with embarrassment. According to Moen, it may be a feeling that is shared by more younger than older people in society. She draws parallels to a Swedish research report: – The nursery staff thought it was easier to raise sensitive topics within same-sex parenting, than to reproduce the religious narratives linked to Christmas and Easter. 50 years ago, a pride parade was unthinkable. Many battles have been won since the abolition of section 213. Here from the pride parade in Bodø last year. Photo: Kasper Holgersen / news Very few have negative attitudes Last year, the Directorate for Children, Youth and Families came out with a new report that deals with Norwegians’ attitudes towards queerness. It is the fourth time such a survey has been carried out. The first time was in 2008. The answers show that Norwegians have acquired more positive attitudes towards queer people. In 2008, just under half of the population answered that they were positive towards gay men and lesbian women, while in 2022 the proportions are well over 60 per cent. About 1 in 3 answer that they have neither positive nor negative attitudes. Very few have negative attitudes (only 3 per cent), the report concludes. Moen says that Norwegian society is concerned with tolerance and respect, and that there has been a lot of attention in particular around people who are gay. – Perhaps the respect for religious people and Christians is less than the respect we have for homosexuals. This matter of personal faith has become more of a private matter than sexual orientation. A few decades ago, the situation was the opposite. When meeting a gay person, many feel that they are facing a person who needs support and recognition. It becomes unnatural to drop friendships because of their sexual preferences, explains Moen. – Active Christians, on the other hand, can be seen as representatives of the whole church, and must stand ready for abuses of power and bad actions that the church and some of its people have exercised throughout history. – Faith has become privatized Former bishop Tor B. Jørgensen in Sør-Hålogaland agrees that faith has long since become a private matter. – This has led to people neither asking about faith nor being good at talking about it. It has probably become easier to stand out in the public space as gay. How difficult it is to appear publicly Christian, there is probably a long scale, Jørgensen believes. Being gay in the Pentecostal congregation is probably at one end of the scale, he believes. – Being openly gay in a conservative Pentecostal tradition will probably still be controversial. Another reason why faith has become a private matter may be that in a multicultural Norway, religion is more than Christianity. It may have contributed to people being more cautious. – It is conceivable that the influence of controversies with Muslims has made religion more problematic. But the fact that religious tradition is out of people’s picture of reality is not quite right. As a priest, I experience the religious dimension in connection with baptisms, confirmations and funerals.
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Simon Stisen gets more trouble because he is a Christian than because he is gay – news Nordland
