State and (Non)religion: Perspectives from Nones in Oslo

Abstract

This paper discusses how nonreligious individuals in Oslo, Norway, relate to politics of religion. Moreover, it shows how different subcategories of nones differ in such questions. It is reasonable to argue that the current politics of religion in Norway predominantly caters for formal affiliation with religious and nonreligious institutions, which has implications for how (non)religion is represented in politics, law and institutional practices such as education. Engaging nonreligious individuals in conversations about such politics is interesting on several levels. One of the key findings in this article is that both humanists and indifferent ones are political when talking about religion in Oslo, Norway. But they are so in different ways. While the humanists are concerned about the political management of (non)religion, the indifferent are more so regarding the internal affairs of faith and worldview communities. The ‘members only’ approach to (non)religion by the state apparatus dominates, which means that, e.g., the religiously indifferent (e.g., possibly formally affiliated with the Church of Norway) are completely overlooked. Such negligence is visible in the common assumption that ‘Norwegians are Christian’ as 70% are members of the church, which is legitimising the privileged position of the Church of Norway and identity politics striving to pair national identity with a Christian heritage. Studying contemporary nones in Oslo nuances such hegemonic discourses, which at the end of the day challenges how (non)religion is dealt with in politics, law and institutional practices.