For 480 years, the Church of Norway was the official state church of Norway, and Evangelical Lutheranism, the official state religion. But on January 1st, 2017, the church and state completed a legal split. Though enrollment in the Church is still at about 70% of Norwegians, this follows years of dwindling attendance and surveys showing a declining belief in God. We learn that Norway is following a pattern that many developed countries do: as safety, wealth, and happiness increase, faith in the divine dips. But many Norwegians are turning to a new form of belonging and ritual outside of a religious context: humanism.

Helge Årsheim, postdoctoral fellow in The Faculty of Theology at the University of Oslo 
Phil Zuckerman, professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College, and author of Living the Secular Life

Our God and Government series is produced with support from the Henry R. Luce Foundation.