Norwegian minister battles ‘anti-queer’ views in churches

20-02-2023

Northern Europe

Annette Trettebergstuen, Minister of Culture and Equality, wants to make LGBT acceptance in faith communities a special point of action. She set up a special action plan.

The goal of the plan is to improve the quality of life for queers in minority communities and religious communities, Vart Land writes. Trettebergstuen thinks that action is needed at a structural level to make these communities more progressive, she said at the presentation of her “Action Plan for Gender and Sexuality Diversity” last Friday.

Challenging

Being queer in religious communities can be challenging, Trettebergstuen said. “Especially where groups in society do not recognise gender and sexuality diversity. We need more measures in this area of effort”, she stated. To achieve more acceptance for queer people, the government will “continually work with dialogue, knowledge, acquisition and skills development in religious communities”, she added.

The action plan contains grants for religious projects about the LGBT community. Furthermore, the Cooperative Council for Faith and Believe Communities (STL) will receive a subsidy to develop materials for dialogue on LGBT issues in religious circles. STL is also supported to organise a “knowledge gathering” about attitudes towards queer people.

Take action

According to Trettebergstuen, prejudices in religious communities make it hard for people to be open and honest about who they are. “We know that in certain religious environments, it is extra difficult to be queer because of stated and unspoken prejudices and sanctioning of being oneself”, she told Dagen. She thinks that the government must therefore take action so that Norway can have “more open communities of faith and outlook on life.”

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Even though critics think the government is going much too far in pushing LGBT theory, Trettebergstuen does not think so. “I think many people have taken the wrong side. It is not too much at all before people can live freely and openly in Norway.”

Part of the action plan is also to establish a ban on conversion therapy. Even though the General Attorney warned that such a ban might violate human rights, Trettebergstuen promised to establish the legislation.

The plan is to come into force between 2023 and 2026.