Norwegian Minister of Culture Anniken Huitfeldt has responded to a long-standing request of the Norwegian Humanist Association (NHA) by appointing a commission whose mandate is to develop a more comprehensive Norwegian life stance policy. But even though the commission has a Humanist deputy leader, the NHA has criticized it for being dominated by Christians and lacking any human rights experts.

From left to right: Sturla Stålsett (Commission leader), Anniken Huitfeldt (Minister of Culture) and Bente Sandvig (Commission deputy leader)

The life stance policy commission will explore issues where public policy intersects with personal convictions and the practices of belief groups, including the non-religious life stance of Humanism as well as religious life stances, such as Christianity and Islam. Discussions regarding the blasphemy law proposed by the Norwegian government and the argument about the use of the Muslim head scarf (hijab) in the police force, have contributed to the pressure on the government to appoint this commission. 

The commission will be headed by Sturla Stålsett, secretary general of the Church City Mission. Deputy leader of the commission will be Bente Sandvig from the Norwegian Humanist Association (NHA). She is also the head of STL (Liaison Council for Life Stance Communities). Out of the 14 other Commission Members, five are employed full-time in Christian organizations, one represents a Muslim organization, and the rest are academics, legal scholars, service providers and business consultants.

Minister denies need for balance

At the press conference announcing the commission, Minister of Culture Anniken Huitfeldt emphasised that there has been no intention to establish a balanced commission, neither in relation to politics nor regarding life stance.

“Our objective has not been to create an even balance of representatives in the commission. The members have been appointed based on competence and knowledge,” Huitfeldt says.

Ms. Huitfeldt replied to several other questions from the Norwegian Humanist Associaiton:

– The Norwegian Humanist Association maintains that too many Christians have been included in the commission, thus generating a Christian bias. What is your reaction to this?

“It is important to stress that this is not intended to be a minority commission. Minorities are not going to define our common arenas. The structure must, of course, reflect this fact. On the other hand, it is important that the majority is conscious of the needs of the minorities. Actually, it is these borderlines that the commission will be trying to define.”

– This is, obviously, a case of how the state is obliged to act in relation to life stance diversities. Human rights constitute a very important element. Have you considered the appointment of a human rights specialist to the commission?

“We have not explicitly looked for a human rights specialist. We have emphasised an open structure, and we have got hold of the commission members we wanted. Furthermore, the commission is free to acquire necessary additional know-how, including human rights competence.”

– Do you hope that the commission will succeed in defining life stance policy guidelines, or do you think that we shall continue to live with recurrent discussions on hijab in the police force, blasphemy clauses etc.?

“These topics will always be open for discussion, and we have no intention of putting these subjects to rest”, says the minister. 

Bente Sandvig, the commission’s Humanist deputy leader, added: “But, maybe, we could hope that the commission will be able to conclude on some advice to make the political principles more coherent.”

The minister, commission leader Sturla Stålsett and deputy leader Bente Sandvig all stress that they are optimists as to the positive conclusions of the commission.

“I am looking forward to this challenge. I think that this is important work, and now is the right time to do it. Even if belief and life stance are personal matters, these subjects also have a public angle. These are the borderlines we will be trying to define. We intend to succeed. We have a comprehensive structure in the commission,” Stålsett states.

The Mandate

In dialogue with the faith- and life stance communities of the country, the commission shall:

• Consider possibilities to monitor the public contribution provisions, together with a definition of terms and conditions applicable to economic support provided by the State.
• Discuss whether the current system of life stance community registration should be maintained, and in that case consider whether the division between registered and unregistered life stance communities should be continued.
• Take into account on what level life stance communities shall be allowed to perform public legal functions. This applies mainly to marriages. For example, the Liberal Party of Norway (Venstre) advocates that life stance communities should only be given the right to arrange the actual ceremony, whereas the legally binding marriage formalities should be undertaken by a public, nondenominational body.

According to the mandate, the existing financial structure pertaining to the Norwegian Church shall remain unchanged, together with the intention to implement an actively supportive life stance policy.

In addition, the commission will “estimate the extent of life stance issues applicable in different public institutions, i.e. in relation to life stance services, access to prayer and ceremony locations, special demand for food, clothing, etc.” This is a very wide area that requires the commission itself to define borderlines.

Moreover, the commission shall make an assessment of integration issues, and how life stance policy might influence these questions. According to the mandate, the commission shall also “review the need for coordination of legal rules and regulations in different public areas in order to implement a more comprehensive life stance policy”. Yet again, this is a wide, unspecified area, and the challenge is to define limits. Blasphemy clauses and hijab discussions are a part of this subject matter, even if this has not been explicitly mentioned in the mandate.

The commission will also look past national borders and chart how similar problems are approached in other countries, together with an evaluation of the financial aspects of the proposed measures.

The commission will submit a detailed report within the end of 2012, well in advance of the second parliamentary debate on the Norwegian state-church system in the national assembly (Stortinget) in 2014.

The Humanist Response

The Norwegian Humanist Association (NHA) is content that the commission has been established, and that NHA’s Bente Sandvig has been appointed deputy leader. For several years NHA has made a case for a report like this. Furthermore, NHA is satisfied that the mandate is adequately defined.

Nevertheless, NHA secretary general Kristin Mile has asked for human rights expertise: “Apparently, the political community is not aware of the fact that we – here in Norway – benefit from competent human rights experts who could have contributed positively to the work undertaken by the commission.”

Furthermore, Mile is disappointed at the Christian bias of the commission, with a preponderance of Christian members. “Of course, Christians should be included, but in the work undertaken to define the future multicultural Norway, to give one example, it is very important to include the minority angle and professional expertise,” said Mile. “This has nothing to do with church policy, but is an instance of how the state is going to relate to the diversity of Norway. The political community and the Christian majority have each played a role to delay the work of implementing true equality in the life stance areas, from a viewpoint that what is preferable to the majority is good enough as a general policy.”

--Even Gran