It saves several religious and life-view communities from losing state support. Among other 123 Christian faith communities. In the Hurdalsplattforma, the government was clear that they wanted to: Make a demand that the administrative bodies that manage public subsidies on behalf of faith communities are democratically elected and have at least 40 per cent representation of each gender. Now they do not want to introduce this. The proposal, which has now been sent to the Storting, suggests that faith and life-view societies must show that they are working towards 40 per cent representation of both sexes in boards and councils. As it is today, it is the taxpayers who finance the state support for the various religious and religious communities in Norway. Regardless of how the representation of gender is in the various boards. Gender distribution in Christian boards 370 Christian religious communities received state support in 2023, 123 of them would have lost state support if an absolute gender requirement was introduced. That is more than 1 in 3. 1 in 5 Christian faith communities consisted exclusively of men. The statistics are taken from Aftenposten – The Norwegian Church could have lost state support During the consultation round, there was a lot of negative feedback from various faith and life-view communities. Based on this feedback, the government is moving from a requirement to a target. – By introducing an absolute gender requirement, we could risk that the Church of Norway would lose state support. In that case, it would be against the constitution, Toppe explains. It is enshrined in the Constitution that the Church of Norway must be state-financed. In the proposal for the 2025 state budget, NOK 2.7 billion has been set aside for the Church of Norway. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB – So one of the reasons why the government does not want to introduce a requirement is because the Church of Norway could have lost state support? – The Church of Norway is one of the religious communities that today has the least problem with an absolute gender requirement. There are probably other religious communities that are more critical, so it is not just out of concern for the Church of Norway, says Toppe. Harald Hegstad, church leader in the Church of Norway, is positive about the proposal for a target. – We see that there can often be a preponderance of women with us, and that we can once again struggle to recruit men. So we think it makes sense to have an activity target rather than an absolute requirement for gender composition, says Hegstad. Harald Hegstad is church leader in Den norske kyrkja- Photo: Bjarte Johannesen / Bjarte Johannesen The Council of Elders is earmarked for men Christian community Sotra/Øygarden is one of many Christian faith communities that would not fulfill the requirement of 40 percent representation of both sexes. The board consists of a council of elders and a deacon. In total there are two women and five men. For religious reasons, the council of elders is earmarked for men. – Based on our conviction from the Bible, the council of elders must consist of men. It has to do with the ordinance we see in the triune God. and which must be shown here on earth, says suburban Norleif Askeland Nevertheless, they are positive that more women should be able to sit on the board of deacons if they have the gift for it. – We are very happy about the religious freedom we have in this country. That we get the recognition of having a religious belief, even if it is not politically correct, says Askeland. Abrupt transition to an absolute requirement SV, which has previously been positive about a gender quota in faith and life-view societies, does not want to make a statement for the time being. Sofie Marhaug from Rødt thinks it is positive about a goal of equality, but sees challenges with an abrupt transition to an absolute requirement. – We cannot have such a sudden transition that the communities of belief and way of life do not survive, because the economic basis disappears completely, says Marhaug. Trude Brosvik, group leader in KrF, believes the state should not interfere in how the faith community is organised. – Nevertheless, I would like to hasten to add that I hope the faith community wants to work towards equal representation in its boards and councils. It has great value, says Brosvik. Published 20.10.2024, at 16.27
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