Relatives of the victims of the rampage on nearby Utoeya island attend a memorial service at a church in Sundvollen, July 24, 2011. A right-wing zealot who admitted to bomb and gun attacks in Norway that killed 92 people on Friday claims he acted alone, Norway's police said on Sunday.
Credits: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
Norway is distancing itself from its Christian past. The Storting -- the country's Parliament -- will amend the constitution so that the state no longer has an official religion, ending the 1,000-year tradition of the Church of Norway.
A parliamentary committee report presented Tuesday contains a unanimous recommendation to have the state permanently separate from the church.
All 169 members of the seven parties in Parliament, including 10 representatives from the Christian Democratic Party and 30 from the Conservative Party, are said to be behind the move, according to a report from TV2.
The government will no longer have a minister of churches, and the state will no longer be responsible for the appointment of bishops and deans.
Instead, Norway will treat all religions and philosophies equally.
"The state will no longer engage in religious activities, but support the Norwegian church, national church and other religious and belief communities in line with it," reports NRK.
The Church of Norway is evangelical Lutheran and says on its website around 86% of the population are baptized members.
The amendments are expected to be formally passed Monday.
