Seafaring Nation Drops Official Religion
 

Not every country is still impressed by superstition.

Norway is distancing itself from its Christian past. The Storting -- the
country's Parliament -- will amend the constitution so that the state no
longer has an official religion, ending the 1,000-year tradition of the
Church of Norway.

A parliamentary committee report presented Tuesday contains a unanimous
recommendation to have the state permanently separate from the church.

All 169 members of the seven parties in Parliament, including 10
representatives from the Christian Democratic Party and 30 from the
Conservative Party, are said to be behind the move, according to a
report from TV2.

The government will no longer have a minister of churches, and the state
will no longer be responsible for the appointment of bishops and deans.

Instead, Norway will treat all religions and philosophies equally.

"The state will no longer engage in religious activities, but support
the Norwegian church, national church and other religious and belief
communities in line with it," reports NRK.

The Church of Norway is evangelical Lutheran and says on its website
around 86% of the population are baptized members.

The amendments are expected to be formally passed Monday.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/15...ion-for-norway