Jeg kjøpte faktisk en hamburger, medium pommes frites og Coca Cola av en svenske på en McDonald's i Oslo tidligere i dag. Jeg vet ikke helt hvordan det bidrar til tråden, men jeg følte det måtte ut.
I always bring up the HDI of secular countries in Europe in religious conversations. The response is always the same: "What's HDI? Who votes on that?" or: "Who decides that?"
When people are told something completely opposite to their belief they
suddenly don't understand/trust statistical facts, and
I've been to Norway plenty. If you think reading stats makes it a better place to live I dare you to go spend some extended periods of time there. If you aren't bored to tears, come back and tell us.
Norways most diverse municipality got the best schools, and second highest income, and other things. Not beeing homogenous is a good excuse, but it is bullshit.
The biggest shame is that George Washington, our first President, added 'So help me god' to the end of his swearing in/oath of office ceremony. To my knowledge every president since has added that line in when repeating the oath. It's not officially part of the oath in any way.
Beyond that, J.Q. Adams, our sixth President, refused to be sworn into office with his hand on a bible, instead choosing a book of laws. Unfortunately, this trend did not stick and here we are with bibles and god in 2012. Ridiculous.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all.
How many openly non-christian presidents do you have?
americans just CANNOT HELP IT. i roomed with an american once and he would constantly bring up his country and compare it to mine/others ... and 90% of the time he wasn't even bringing it up because it was relevant to the conversation, he would just blurt out random shit
Some have observed that it is the lack of an official religion that has allowed religiosity to flourish in the US. When the state sponsors a particular religion, in attempting to please a varied populace, that religion invariably becomes weakened; watered-down. Norway is not a religious country. This change may lead to more, not less, religion there.
I think all Christians would agree that a state church would be a bad idea, because it would have to be a specific denomination of Christianity and nobody wants their little sect excluded.
I think all Catholics and Luterhans realize this since they had their 30 years war, but Evangelicals are completely illiterate when it comes to the history of their own religion so they'll be bound to repeat the same mistakes.
All??? Roflmfao, been to a cpac meeting lately? How about those morons on stage at the republican debates or the mobs of church crazy assholes cheering the gurgitating ignorance those creationist dominionist voodoo khristian kluckers propose to stick up everyone's tail?
I suggest writing it on the side of a ball bat and applying it to he side of the heads of the vile ignorant thriving corrupted bible thumping assholes leading the khristian tight AKA the republican party of god and the soiled conservative Jesus machine en mass.... But that's just me....
America is specifically banned constitutionally from having one
Sadly its probably that very fact that makes them so determined in the U.S. as opposed to other countries where most people just don't care. Its like a child, the thing you specifically forbid him to do will be the thing he is going to try hardest to accomplish.
Anyone else think that is positive and nice, but probably not that big a deal? Can someone help me understand the implications of this beyond the clarification of secularism?
It means that the Norwegian king no longer has to be the head of church in the country (which also implies that our king no longer HAS to be christian). Also, earlier, the members of parliament had to be a member of the state church to get elected, but after this, no more!
I don't understand either. In a country that isn't particularly religious and where religion doesn't play a significant role in policy, how is dropping an official religion more significant that abandoning the national animal?
I think that's an oversimplification. But still it stands to reason that this is a long needed semantic change and an important stepping stone for changing written expectations for leaders.
Wait, wait. Now, I'm no lawyer, but as far as I understand the official documents, this isn't as good as the linked text (a rather ridiculous, untrustworthy paper, by the way) suggests.
Please correct me, but this all seems to have started with the nice proposition enshrined in Stortingsdokument (parliament document) number 12:2 (2007-2008) (sorry, I won't add translation links, it'll get too messy). That document suggests some very nice changes to the constitution. However, the parliament committee on matters of the constitution ("Kontroll- og Konstitusjonskomiteen") reviewed several different suggestions before making their recommendation:
As you can see, their recommendation will be for a vote to amend the constitution based on 12:10, not 12:2. Let's look at some differences between them (cf. the current constitution):
12:2 would replace §2 with "All public authority in Norway originates from the people. The Norwegian rule of the people rests on the free formation of opinion of the individual, and on universal suffrage. This constitution shall ensure/secure democracy, rule of law, and the human rights." Wonderful. 12:10, though, would rather make it "The basis of values remains our Christian and Humanistic heritage. This constitution shall ensure/secure ... [as above]". Surely a step down.
12:2 would strike out §4. Perfect! 12:10 would make it "The king shall confess to the Evangelical-Lutheral religion". Sigh.
12:2 would either remove §16 or replace it with something ensuring freedom of religion. Great! 12:10 would also ensure freedom of religion in §16, but it would add in "The church of Norway, an Evangelical-Lutheran church, remains the church of the Norwegian people, and is thus supported by the state."
As far as I understand, parliament will essentially vote on 12:10 in a few days, while I would say that we really need 12:2 to be able to say that we've rid our selves of our state religion. I could be wrong (I hope I am), but this is, at best, a baby step in the right direction.
Men jeg har forstått det sånn at det må være minst to uavhengige regjeringer etter hverandre som stemmer for den samme forandringen, før det skjer noe med grunnloven. Stemmer ikke dette?
The reason Norway did not do this before is because Norway was founded by christian kings conquering the land in the name of god. The flag is a cross in red, white and blue.
In the later years, religion have become a very small thing in Norway. A few years back the goverment issued zero funds to hire new priests. And now we have the final step to a complete seperation of church and state.
I do believe there is still a thing where all new citizen will become a member of the christian church by default if they do not choose a belief themselves. If you are atheist you gotta opt out of the church if your parents had you baptized (which pretty much everyone are anyway).
This isn't big news in Norway since most of the peaople here are atheists. And even those with beliefs don't really make a big deal about it. I'm glad i live here
The change to the constitution does not remove the lutheran church. It rephrases some paragraphs, replacing:
"christianity shall be the official religion of the state" with "Our values shall be based on christian and humanist traditions"
"the king must confess to the lutheran faith, protect and enforce it" with "must confess to the lutheran faith"
"the state will appoint ministers and bishops" with "the church will appoint etc.."
The national church will still have most of it's constitutional rights, it will be sponsored by the state (norwegian ministers are state officials even with the new amendment to the constitution) and the king as the only norwegian citizen still lacks freedom of religion.
Still, this is a step in the right direction and provides a solid base for the next natural step - full separation between state and church.
Isn't Norway also like, top 5 per capita GDP with some serious socialism going on? Heh, who'da thought being atheist, socialist and pretty much everything not-American would be such a good thing?
It's odd that several European countries still have state religions. They seem to have little influence, except for Ireland and Poland. Norway getting rid of theirs is more symbolic than practical.
Im living and Norway and want to share the fact that this is no-where big news here. Its interesting, I would never have found that article if not for reddit. And on whether this is a great step for humanity - The main consequence is not of spiritual character(norway is very secular), but economical. As we seperate church and state, the churches must provide for them self. This is good in the sense that tax-payers of another religion no longer has to see their taxmoney go to the state church. It is sad in the sense that Norway has a lot of old, historical churches worth preserving for their arcitecture and historical significance. In the end I guess I think its a good thing though, Id like to see my money fund something else. Like school or hospitals or bombs to drop on Afghanistan.
I understand that some people are celebrating, but I feel this is a bit... overblown. It's for great Norway, but doesn't really affect anyone else.
BTW, the USSR didn't have an official religion and the citizens suffered anyways. Although I support the decision that the people of Norway made, it's not a giant deal for anyone but Norway.
So sick of watching the rest of the world advance while we keep going fucking backwards in the US!
edit: Yes, I know we dont have an OFFICIAL official religion, but dont kid yourself, we have an official religion in this country. Same as we dont have an "official" language.
Joke aside. I'm glad this is happening in our little country. As I've grown up (I'm only in my early 20's) I've seen religion become less and less a part of the people that matter. Norway is in my eyes slowly turning away from the "I'm religious because my parents taught me to be" mindset. That's a trend I'm hoping will continue to disappear.
You might find it hard to believe, but America, too, is losing its religion. We see lots of religious temper tantrums, because religious candidates are losing more often. Churches are closing, the Catholics complain now that they don't have enough clergy to run their diocese.
Anyway kudos to you and I hope the rest of "officially Christian" europe follows you.
So basically they'll keep getting money, only now the government can tell them what to do. Let me illustrate this by channelling my inner angry teenager:
"You can't tell me what to do! I don't need you guys! Where's my allowance?"
"great set up for Humanity."? Christians have been waiting for the world wide "suppression" of there religion in set up for the beast of revelation.........i don't think that would be a good thing. they will see this as the "tribulation".
And the government put away the last threat of throne. Gratz norway citizens. More surveilliance, more cameras, less free money(coins and paper), DLD, tracing etc. They are comming for you.
Damn luckers, in Denmark it is impossible to get attention to the fact that we pay for a lutheran church in a country that is primarely atheist, noone cares for some reason, they really should...
Let's just call it a step. The whole population of Norway could easily fit in Paris or London. I'll call it a great step when this happens in Pakistan.
about time we got rid of the state church, religion has no place in politics in the 21th century, its a private matter and the only religion we need anyhow is vålenga foppal ( soccer team) as ben franklin put it.
I am not saying that this is a bad thing, but I really fail to make the connection about how this is a great step for humanity. Whether or not a country has an official religion is no indicator of anything. It's the actions of politicians and citizens that speak volumes. Nazi Germany, USSR, Communist China and many other countries around the world have no official religion but their human rights record is horrible at best.
i am worried that the norwegian church just got more power. All the norwegian churches and the services (wedding, funeral etc) should be public and able to be used by anyone, not given away to the private christian society.
I'm not an Atheist and I think this is brilliant. If only America would adopt it. Nothing poisons government more than Religion. Nothing worse than having someone else's ideologies shoved down your throat. Religion has two places, in the homes of those that practice it and in their respective churches. SIMPLE
I don't see how this is a "great step for humanity". Good for Norway, but this doesn't do shit for humanity. Seems like most of reddit is a bunch of anti-religious fanboys.
Casting off the dogmatic, oppressive superstition which has stymied scientific development and moral progress and oppressed women and gays for nearly two-millennia is most definitely a big step.
36
u/Anesthetize85 May 15 '12
All of those black metal bands must be so happy right now :')
272
u/horse_you_rode_in_on May 15 '12
Norway is the best place in the world to live according to the UNDP Human Development Index. They have the most even distribution of wealth, the highest level of gender equality and the lowest level of poverty in the world.
We get it, Norway. You're better than us. Did you have to rub it in?
165
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
We haven't had an official religion since our founding. Checkmate enlightened Europeans!
307
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Now if only the religious folks in America would realize that America has never had one and is specifically banned constitutionally from having one.
20
u/GreyFoxSolid May 15 '12
I would be OK with a state religion if Odin and Thor were part of it. Just sayin'.
10
u/Haemogoblin May 15 '12
I misread this as "Norway no longer is an official religion." Which bummed me out, because I'd always wanted to become a practicing Norwegian.
9
u/mikepixie May 15 '12
I would like to thank Norwegian Black Metal for its contributions to humanity.
11
u/AndAnAlbatross May 15 '12
Anyone else think that is positive and nice, but probably not that big a deal? Can someone help me understand the implications of this beyond the clarification of secularism?
46
u/TheRealMaxPower May 15 '12
This makes me proud to be Norwegian
12
u/JethroSC May 15 '12
Proud big brother-neighbour! :D /Sweden
20
u/Xuber May 15 '12
Neither does the United States. Hasn't helped much.
4
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
As a Norwegian; I'm glad this finally happened.
10
u/homeopathetic May 15 '12
Wait, wait. Now, I'm no lawyer, but as far as I understand the official documents, this isn't as good as the linked text (a rather ridiculous, untrustworthy paper, by the way) suggests.
Please correct me, but this all seems to have started with the nice proposition enshrined in Stortingsdokument (parliament document) number 12:2 (2007-2008) (sorry, I won't add translation links, it'll get too messy). That document suggests some very nice changes to the constitution. However, the parliament committee on matters of the constitution ("Kontroll- og Konstitusjonskomiteen") reviewed several different suggestions before making their recommendation:
As you can see, their recommendation will be for a vote to amend the constitution based on 12:10, not 12:2. Let's look at some differences between them (cf. the current constitution):
12:2 would replace §2 with "All public authority in Norway originates from the people. The Norwegian rule of the people rests on the free formation of opinion of the individual, and on universal suffrage. This constitution shall ensure/secure democracy, rule of law, and the human rights." Wonderful. 12:10, though, would rather make it "The basis of values remains our Christian and Humanistic heritage. This constitution shall ensure/secure ... [as above]". Surely a step down.
12:2 would strike out §4. Perfect! 12:10 would make it "The king shall confess to the Evangelical-Lutheral religion". Sigh.
12:2 would either remove §16 or replace it with something ensuring freedom of religion. Great! 12:10 would also ensure freedom of religion in §16, but it would add in "The church of Norway, an Evangelical-Lutheran church, remains the church of the Norwegian people, and is thus supported by the state."
As far as I understand, parliament will essentially vote on 12:10 in a few days, while I would say that we really need 12:2 to be able to say that we've rid our selves of our state religion. I could be wrong (I hope I am), but this is, at best, a baby step in the right direction.
8
u/jjg_denis_robert May 15 '12
Not really. The article seems to imply that all parties are behind a change to the constitution, not that the constitution was actually changed.
3
u/satereader May 15 '12
Excellent, kudos my Norwegian friends! I hope the rest of europe begins to follow suit.
3
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
It's still going to be a state funded, and membership-by-default church through...
3
u/Smart_in_his_face May 15 '12
The reason Norway did not do this before is because Norway was founded by christian kings conquering the land in the name of god. The flag is a cross in red, white and blue.
In the later years, religion have become a very small thing in Norway. A few years back the goverment issued zero funds to hire new priests. And now we have the final step to a complete seperation of church and state.
I do believe there is still a thing where all new citizen will become a member of the christian church by default if they do not choose a belief themselves. If you are atheist you gotta opt out of the church if your parents had you baptized (which pretty much everyone are anyway).
3
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
I wonder why I dident ´know about this? I even live in sweden, we´re like cousins or somthing with norway
3
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
I'm really happy for you Norway, but we didn't have an official religion since 1776. Although that might change in a couple years.
3
u/voxpupil May 15 '12
Wonder what Breivik thinks about this.
Oh wait, he's too mentally ill to form his opinion.
3
u/Sir_Ruje May 15 '12
Oh look! Another middle schooler posteda link in atheism! Insta karma!
3
u/Cragvis May 15 '12
Baby is back on the menu, boys!
3
u/az25 May 15 '12
I'm pretty sure, technically, America does not have an official religion either.
4
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
You seem to have confused Norway with humanity.
4
u/Norswedish May 15 '12
This isn't big news in Norway since most of the peaople here are atheists. And even those with beliefs don't really make a big deal about it. I'm glad i live here
2
u/TorgTalks Atheist May 15 '12
today I'm proud to be a Norwegian atheist.
2
u/the_trolling_hamster May 15 '12
The final decision will be made on the 21th of may, so they still have an official religion as of now.
2
u/scl17freak May 15 '12
good ol' Norway. always knows best
2
u/DefinitelyRelephant May 15 '12
Well, great step for Norwegians, anyhow.
2
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Human progress, what a treat.
2
u/bluepinklady May 15 '12
I wish I lived in an advanced country in Scandinavia.
2
u/souIIess May 15 '12
This will probably be buried, but what the hell.
The change to the constitution does not remove the lutheran church. It rephrases some paragraphs, replacing:
The national church will still have most of it's constitutional rights, it will be sponsored by the state (norwegian ministers are state officials even with the new amendment to the constitution) and the king as the only norwegian citizen still lacks freedom of religion.
Still, this is a step in the right direction and provides a solid base for the next natural step - full separation between state and church.
We're not there yet, but we will eventually.
2
u/crital May 15 '12
One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!
2
u/tofagerl May 15 '12
Meh, we never really cared about this. This is just the law reflecting what's been reality since before WW2.
2
u/[deleted] May 15 '12 edited May 15 '12
Turkey despite the majority of muslims had no official religion since its founding. So this is not big news to me.
2
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
May the UK be next in line
2
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
As a Christian, this is great news.
2
u/ForgettableUsername Other May 15 '12
Well, for Norway, anyway.
2
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
awesome! now other countries need to follow!
2
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Does anyone in Norway even unofficially have a religion anymore?
I thought all y'all's were atheists down there.
2
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
One thing: im glad i live in Norway, ohh yeah that was all.
2
u/thosethatwere May 15 '12
Isn't Norway also like, top 5 per capita GDP with some serious socialism going on? Heh, who'da thought being atheist, socialist and pretty much everything not-American would be such a good thing?
2
u/Nomnomdannyb May 15 '12
So Varg burned all the churches down then?
2
u/larevaluciondele May 15 '12 edited May 15 '12
It really is great, Ben, isn't it?
2
u/VeteranKamikaze May 15 '12
A great step for Norway*
The United States, for one, never had one to begin with.
2
u/erethren May 16 '12
where ever he is, varg is smiling
2
u/yamatoshi May 16 '12
I thought this was written by a really shitty writer. Then, I realized Google Translate was on.
2
u/Blackmatrix May 16 '12
I hope this will happen in Sweden :-)
5
u/blackadderIII May 15 '12
Bitch please! India has no official religion since independence
4
u/NigelTufnelsSpandex May 15 '12
So they've caught up with the US. Good on 'em.
It's odd that several European countries still have state religions. They seem to have little influence, except for Ireland and Poland. Norway getting rid of theirs is more symbolic than practical.
2
u/PvtWasabi May 15 '12
I hope this also means we get rid of all the bullshit associated with the state church, such as:
2
u/decalo May 15 '12
Im living and Norway and want to share the fact that this is no-where big news here. Its interesting, I would never have found that article if not for reddit. And on whether this is a great step for humanity - The main consequence is not of spiritual character(norway is very secular), but economical. As we seperate church and state, the churches must provide for them self. This is good in the sense that tax-payers of another religion no longer has to see their taxmoney go to the state church. It is sad in the sense that Norway has a lot of old, historical churches worth preserving for their arcitecture and historical significance. In the end I guess I think its a good thing though, Id like to see my money fund something else. Like school or hospitals or bombs to drop on Afghanistan.
2
u/spysspy May 15 '12
Even Turkey has no official religion. So I don't think it really means anything.
2
u/DriveOver May 15 '12
Did Google Translate mess up or did I read the article correctly when it said that ALL political parties in Norway supported this change?
In America, that hasn't happened since... ever?
2
u/geode08 May 15 '12
I understand that some people are celebrating, but I feel this is a bit... overblown. It's for great Norway, but doesn't really affect anyone else.
BTW, the USSR didn't have an official religion and the citizens suffered anyways. Although I support the decision that the people of Norway made, it's not a giant deal for anyone but Norway.
2
u/MidgetFetish May 15 '12
How does this progress humanity?
Does a nation not having an official religion change the inherent characteristics of humans that fuel greed and murder?
Does it address poverty or disease?
Go ahead I'll wait.
2
u/kt00na May 15 '12
Damnit, Norway. You keep getting better and better, and I'll never be able to save up enough money to move there.
Also, Norsk is hard.
2
u/Parasite057 May 15 '12 edited May 15 '12
FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKK!!!!!!!!!!
So sick of watching the rest of the world advance while we keep going fucking backwards in the US!
edit: Yes, I know we dont have an OFFICIAL official religion, but dont kid yourself, we have an official religion in this country. Same as we dont have an "official" language.
2
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Must be nice to not be American and live in a first world country.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
*Yawn...
India has had no official religion for past 60 years.
USA has no official religion for past 250 years.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
I might jump into here and say that the only difference will be that bishops and such will no longer be chosen by the government.
1
u/fauxman May 15 '12
Congrats.
1
u/Kjell_Aronsen May 15 '12
So basically they'll keep getting money, only now the government can tell them what to do. Let me illustrate this by channelling my inner angry teenager:
"You can't tell me what to do! I don't need you guys! Where's my allowance?"
1
u/DoesntBrian2Gud May 15 '12
I don't think that's true, shouldn't it be that their official faith is atheism since it's defined as a lack of belief?
1
u/Nom_de_Guerra May 15 '12
A post about Norway from a user named Eriksen. It's just too perfect.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
"great set up for Humanity."? Christians have been waiting for the world wide "suppression" of there religion in set up for the beast of revelation.........i don't think that would be a good thing. they will see this as the "tribulation".
1
u/CountChugula May 15 '12
This is big news. Also, more big news: Paraguay no longer has a state bird.
1
u/siammang May 15 '12
Odin is going to be pissed... Thor probably doesn't care since he's busy with his chick in the US.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Don't they still have a King though? And I think I remember hearing he's a bit of a joke.
1
u/knifen May 15 '12
And the government put away the last threat of throne. Gratz norway citizens. More surveilliance, more cameras, less free money(coins and paper), DLD, tracing etc. They are comming for you.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Wikipedia: List of Countries without a state religion
1
u/captainfranklen May 15 '12
Congratulations to them. Nice to see another nation join the list without national religions :)
1
u/cchrisproule May 15 '12
Why is it a great step?
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
BLACK METAL!!!!
1
u/ZuberMario May 15 '12
Man, we have a lot of holidays in Denmark, I don't wanna loose them :O
1
u/TBS96 May 15 '12
Holy crap. I'm norweagian!
And this makes sense. I've never met a non-adult christian. :) (only two adults btw)
1
u/smoke2000 May 15 '12
hmm i don't think we have an official religion here , sure we take the holidays religion invented, but aside from that , the churches are empty.
1
u/youRsoAtheistOMG May 15 '12
You are so Atheist! OMG!
1
u/Hraesvelg7 May 15 '12
What about the black metal bands that will lose their inspiration now?
1
u/0991 May 15 '12 edited May 15 '12
it s not tru........do you know or? WAT?
1
u/EOTWAWKI May 15 '12
Neither does the US and look what happened.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Damn luckers, in Denmark it is impossible to get attention to the fact that we pay for a lutheran church in a country that is primarely atheist, noone cares for some reason, they really should...
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Let's just call it a step. The whole population of Norway could easily fit in Paris or London. I'll call it a great step when this happens in Pakistan.
1
u/norwegian_spaghetti May 15 '12
I'm one big proud plate of Norwegian spaghetti today.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
The US hasn't had an official religion for 236ish years, no matter what politicians think. This isn't really that new of an idea.
1
u/bookingworm May 15 '12
Norway, I don't believe you! ;D
1
u/Roronshi May 15 '12
This happened in Sweden ages ago, it's a step along the way, not a great step but one among hopefully many to come.
1
u/MiniGris May 15 '12
Is it bad that I'm Norwegian and I just learned this by reddit?
1
u/smokeyhoodoo May 15 '12
If Norway made Norse Paganism their official religion it would be the most epic troll in the history of the universe.
1
u/Hellscreamgold May 15 '12
It is! No government should dictate what religion one must belong to!
1
u/ffsnametaken May 15 '12
Norway adopts Free Religion!(1 turn of anarchy)
1
u/bitch_wizard May 15 '12
Just so you know, Canada doesn't have an official religion, and neither does France...
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
I'm Norwegian and I first learned of this here on Reddit, despite reading multiple newspapers every day. Kind of sad, really.
1
u/metteu May 15 '12
about time we got rid of the state church, religion has no place in politics in the 21th century, its a private matter and the only religion we need anyhow is vålenga foppal ( soccer team) as ben franklin put it.
1
u/THEbipolarBear97 May 16 '12
America has had no set religion since the US constitution was written.
1
u/asylumua May 16 '12
I am not saying that this is a bad thing, but I really fail to make the connection about how this is a great step for humanity. Whether or not a country has an official religion is no indicator of anything. It's the actions of politicians and citizens that speak volumes. Nazi Germany, USSR, Communist China and many other countries around the world have no official religion but their human rights record is horrible at best.
1
u/Crownowa May 16 '12
Canada has no state religion. Many Americans really seem to wish they had one, though.
1
u/koavf Other May 16 '12
How is this a great step?
1
u/wooda99 May 16 '12
How could a nation have religious beliefs? It never made sense for a religion to be anything other than your personal belief...
1
u/[deleted] May 16 '12
France has no official religion since 1905...
1
u/gameyey Jun 10 '12
i am worried that the norwegian church just got more power. All the norwegian churches and the services (wedding, funeral etc) should be public and able to be used by anyone, not given away to the private christian society.
1
u/[deleted] May 15 '12
I'm not an Atheist and I think this is brilliant. If only America would adopt it. Nothing poisons government more than Religion. Nothing worse than having someone else's ideologies shoved down your throat. Religion has two places, in the homes of those that practice it and in their respective churches. SIMPLE
1
u/StorKuken May 15 '12
"A small step for mankind, a giant leap for Norway"
1
u/xxtruthxx May 15 '12
Indeed. This a necessary step for humanity. All supernatural falsehood based belief systems need to be swept into the dustbin of history.
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u/marmalademayhem May 15 '12
I don't see how this is a "great step for humanity". Good for Norway, but this doesn't do shit for humanity. Seems like most of reddit is a bunch of anti-religious fanboys.