Norwegian Atheists not accepted as religious group
The Norwegian atheists' society has not been accepted as a religious organisation. Photo dumpert.nl
Northern Europe
The Norwegian organisation Atheists applied for recognition as a philosophical society, like religious groups. But the government said no to them.
That is reported by the Norwegian daily Vart Land.
The Atheists’ chairman Dagfinn Eckhoff thinks it is unreasonable not to recognise them. “Even hill-climbers get grants”, he says. Recognition might also have financial aspects. The Atheists have about 200 members.
In the ’70s, Eckhoff was already active for the then called Pagan Society. That organisation was known for its anti-religious and sensational actions against the Church of Norway.
The State Administrator says that the Atheists do not have a belief, but that their main activity is fighting religion. The organisation disagrees and has complained. In the complaint, the Atheists say, according to Vart Land, that the organisation is active in spreading “the theory of evolution and humanistic values.”
Comparable to Humanists
The organisation claims to be comparable to the Human-Ethical Association (HEF) in Norway and considers itself discriminated against. But the Atheists have no ceremonies or rituals.
The Pagan Society already tried to receive recognition in the 80s. That case came in court, but the organisation lost on the same grounds as the state gives now.
The news portal Norge Idag reports from the Atheists’ complaint in which they claim that “religious criticism is a subsidiary activity that is sometimes necessary to clear space for our outlook on life.”
