It is Norway's Evangelical Lutheran folk church, which gained greater legal independence from the state through constitutional changes in 2012 and a new Church Act in 2017.
The Church of Norway became Lutheran at the Reformation in 1537, when Norway was under the Danish crown. Constitutional amendments adopted in 2012 ended its status as the official state religion while retaining its standing as Norway's folk church, supported by the state. It is governed by a General Synod and led by bishops in its dioceses.
Sources
Primary
- The Augsburg Confession (1530)
Secondary
- Günter Gassmann and Mark W. Oldenburg, Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism