Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
Religion in the Nordics - statistics & facts
When the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published a series of cartoons depicting Muhammad back in 2005, protests broke out among both Muslims in Denmark and worldwide, starting a diplomatic crisis between Denmark and the Muslim world, and highlighting the potential religion has to spark controversies and divides within a society (the incident is also known as the Muhammad cartoon crisis). In 2023, a Danish right-wing extremist sparked uproar after setting fire to the Quran in Sweden, provoking Muslims around the world. Despite these incidents, Muslims make up an important minority in the multi-religious societies of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Since the reformation, Evangelical-Lutheran Christianity has been the dominating religion in the five countries, and continues to be so today, even though the number of members of the national churches is decreasing. Denmark, Finland, and Iceland still have national Evangelical Lutheran churches directly supported by the state, and the Church of Norway and the Church of Sweden were only separated from the state as recently as 2017 and 2000, respectively.
Multi-religious societies
With globalization and immigration, new religious communities have been established in the five Nordic countries. With Denmark, Finland, and Sweden being members of the European Union, and Norway and Iceland members of the European Economic Area (EEA), people from other European countries, particularly Eastern Europe, have sought work in the Nordic countries. Many of these are Catholics, and there are now significant Roman Catholic communities in all five Nordic countries. Furthermore, many people have immigrated to the Nordic countries from predominantly Muslim countries such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has led to an increasing number of Muslims in the countries. Today, Syrians and Iraqi make up the two largest groups of immigrants in Sweden.The importance of religion
While religion plays a diminishing role in the Nordic countries, with fewer people believing in God, and fewer people praying regularly, religion and religious communities still play an important role for many people in the Nordics. For instance, in Norway, three quarters of the population see the Church of Norway as an important meeting point in times of crises, and almost 80 percent see it as important for conducting baptisms, confirmations, and other services. In other words, while the national churches of the five Nordic countries play a declining role in people's everyday lives, it's still an important institution through significant stages in life, from baptism to funeral.
