Appendix 2 
Historical timeline for freedom of religion or belief in Norway

• 1537 The Lutheran Reformation in Norway is introduced by Royal Decree in 1537.
• 1814 The Norwegian Constitution continues the religious monopoly and excludes Jews and Catholic monastic orders.
• 1842 The Conventical Act (Konventikkelplakaten) is repealed.
• 1845 Enactment of the first Dissenter Act. This makes it possible for Christian denominations to establish other religious communities in Norway and gives Norwegians the right to resign membership of the Church of Norway.
• 1851 Article 2 of the Constitution denying Jews entry to the realm is repealed.
• 1850 Several of the Protestant free churches found in Norway today are established during the second half of the 1800s.
• 1878 The Constitutional provisions on required religious affiliation for government officials are partially repealed.
• 1891 The Dissenter Act is amended. Non-Christian religious groups are given the right to establish religious communities in Norway.
• 1892 The requirement that judges profess the Lutheran faith is repealed; this is extended to include county governors in 1894.
• 1897 The prohibition against Catholic monastic orders is repealed, except for the Jesuit order.
• 1915–17 Dissenters are allowed to teach all subjects except Christianity in primary and lower secondary school. The requirement that heads of schools and their deputies profess the Lutheran faith is continued.
• 1919 The requirement that government ministers profess the Lutheran faith is partially repealed and is limited to one-half of the Council of State.
• 1948 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is adopted by the UN and ratified by Norway.
• 1952 Norway ratifies the European Convention on Human Rights, which was adopted by the Council of Europe in 1950 and entered into effect in 1953.
• 1956 The prohibition against the Jesuit order is repealed.
• 1964 Freedom of religion is explicitly incorporated into the Constitution for the first time.
• 1969 The Dissenter Act is replaced by the Act relating to religious communities, etc.
• 1969 Tuition on Christianity as a school subject is no longer regarded as the official domain of the Church of Norway for Christian education.
• 1972 Norway ratifies the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which was adopted by the UN in 1966 and entered into effect in 1976.
• 1999 The Norwegian Human Rights Act incorporates five international conventions with additional protocols into Norwegian law, giving these precedence over Norwegian law in cases of conflict with other statutes.
• 2012 The Constitution is amended, making Norway a secular country with no official religion.
• 2017 The Church of Norway is established as a separate legal entity.
• 2021 A new act consolidating existing legislation on religious and belief communities (trossamfunnsloven) entered into effect.