Fritanke.no, the newspaper of the Norwegian Humanist Association has announced that selected articles from its Norwegian edition will also be available in English. The English language articles can be found at http://www.fritanke.no/ENGLISH/ The first two articles on the site relate to the important developments and arrangements made by a joint National Assembly relating to the State-Church relation in Norway.

In 1997 some Norwegian parents started a court case to try to gain the right to withdraw their children from KRL classes (Christian, Religious and Life Stance Education), which are very much slanted towards Christianity. This case subsequently went through every level of the Norwegian courts (with the parents being supported by the Norwegian Humanist Association), but without success.

There were celebrations in the Humanist House in Oslo last Friday, when the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg found that the religious education in Norwegian schools was in violation of Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 of the European Human Rights Convention.

Prof. Carl-Johan Kleberg, former Chairman of the Swedish Humanist Association, presented this report to the 1st Baltic Humanist Conference in Stockholm. Based on a study of 11 Nordic countries – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden, it makes a series of recommendations viz.

The 12-month long 50th anniversary celebrations of the Norwegian Humanist Association (NHA) which started last year concluded recently. During an anniversary year crowded by adverts and articles in the media, conferences, seminars and social events, a ‘Norwegian Humanist Manifesto 2006’ was adopted, and a 536-page history of the Association was published by Prof. Paul Knutsen.

The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) expresses its deepest concern for the way Norway arranges religious education and instruction within the public school system.

Extracts from Professor Paul Knutsen’s Norwegian language Life Before Death – the Norwegian Humanist Association 1956-2006. Translation of extracts by Roar Johnsen

Investigate your life by the light of the midnight sun! IHEYO member organization Norwegian Humanist Association (HEF) wants to gather young humanists from the whole of Europe to get to know each other, get know themselves better, learn more about humanism and have a great week. It is hoped that there will be one contingent leader and 5-10 participants from each country.

IHEU member organization Norwegian Humanist Association had a net increase of 2,043 members in 2006, after allowing for deaths and withdrawals. In total, over 4,000 people joined the association during its 50th anniversary year. At the start of 2007, the total membership stands at 69,640. The 2006 achievement is the largest increase since 1998.

Extended program - New deadline

The Baltic Humanist meeting in Sweden is now only five weeks away. Applications may be submitted until October 15th. Participants from over twenty countries have already registered. Go to the Humanisterna web site to register.

Additional seminars will deal with Euthanasia, "Europe and Islam" and "Minorities and Human rights in the Baltic states". Full information on the updated program will follow in the next few weeks.