Christianity is a prevalent religion in Denmark; in January 2023, 72.1%[1] of the population of Denmark were members of the Church of Denmark. According to a survey based on a sample 1,114, 25% of Danes believe Jesus is the son of God, and 18% believe he is the saviour of the world.[2] Aside from Lutheranism, there is a small Catholic minority, as well as small Protestant denominations such as the Baptist Union of Denmark and the Reformed Synod of Denmark.

Denmark has Lutheranism as the state religion,[3] as such its culture is heavily influenced by Christianity.

Protestantism

Church of Denmark (Lutheranism)

Church of Denmark
yearpopulationmemberspercentage
18902,205,8202,138,52996.9%[4]
19012,449,5402,416,51198.7%[5]
19112,757,0762,715,18798.5%[5]
19845,113,5004,684,06091.6%
19905,135,4094,584,45089.3%
20005,330,5004,536,42285.1%
20055,413,6004,498,70383.3%
20075,447,1004,499,34382.6%
20085,475,7914,494,58982.1%
20095,511,4514,492,12181.5%
20105,534,7384,479,21480.9%
20115,560,6284,469,10980.4%
20125,580,5164,454,46679.8%
20135,602,6284,430,64379.1%
20145,627,2354,413,82578.4%
20155,659,7154,400,75477.8%
20165.707.2514.387.57176,9%
20175.748.7694.361.51875.9%
20185.781.1904.352.50775,3%
20195.806.0814.339.51174.7%
20205.822.7634.327.01874.3%
20215.840.0454.311.33373.8%
20225.869.9454.296.80073.2%
20235.932.6544.276.27172.1%
Statistical data: 1984,[6] 1990–2023[1]
Source: Kirkeministeriet
St. Canute's Cathedral, Odense

According to official statistics from January 2023, 72,1%[1][7] of the population of Denmark are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark (Den danske folkekirke), the country's state church since the Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein, and designated "the Danish people's church" by the 1848 Constitution of Denmark.[8]

This proportion is down by 1.1% as compared to the preceding year and 1.7% down compared to two years earlier. However, in similar fashion to the rest of Scandinavia, and also Britain, only a small minority (less than 5% of the total population) attends churches for Sunday services.[9][10] In addition, the number of people leaving the Church has been on the rise: in 2012, 21,118 Danes left the Church, an increase of 55% in comparison to 2011.[11] Individuals automatically become members when baptized, as most people born in Denmark are at birth, and cannot leave of their own accord until they are 18 years old. Members are not informed of their membership or their ability to leave. Further, there are no standard formulas for leaving the church; one must personally contact the priest or office of one's parish.[12][13]

Other Protestant denominations

A small Baptist community has existed since the 1840s and is represented by the Baptist Union of Denmark. The Union claimed 55 churches and 5,412 congregants in 2011.[14]

Reformed Protestantism is represented by four churches united in the Reformed Synod of Denmark. These are mainly ethnic congregations, including two Huguenot churches and a German Reformed church, founded in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,[15][16][17] as well as the Korean Reformed Church founded in 1989.[18] The German Reformed church also includes some Dutch, Swiss, Hungarian and American members, as well as Danes.[16] There is an Anglican church and fellowship in Copenhagen and smaller congregations of Anglicans and Episcopalians in many Danish cities.

A 2015 study estimates some 4,000 Christian believers from a Muslim background in the country, most of them belonging to some form of Protestantism.[19]

Catholicism

St. Ansgar's Cathedral, Copenhagen

After the separation of the Church of Denmark from the Catholic Church in 1536, the Catholic Church remained illegal in the country for over three centuries. The Church was able to reestablish itself after the Constitution of 1849 granted religious freedom to the Kingdom. Currently the country is covered by the Diocese of Copenhagen with 48 parishes in Denmark proper and two more in the Faeroe Islands and Greenland. There are nearly 40,000 Catholics in Denmark, though nearly a third are foreign born and others are born of foreign parents (for example, Denmark's Polish community, of which the current bishop of the Roman-Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen, Czeslaw Kozon, is a member). Nevertheless, ethnic Danes are still the largest group among the Church's congregants.[20]

Orthodoxy

Eastern Orthodoxy

Adherents of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Denmark are traditionally organized in accordance with patrimonial ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Eastern Orthodox Danes of Greek origin belong to the Metropolis of Sweden and Scandinavia, under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Those of Russian origin are directly under the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.[21] Those of Serbian origin belong to the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Britain and Scandinavia.[22] Those of Romanian origin belong to the Diocese of Northern Europe, of the Romanian Orthodox Church.[23]

Oriental Orthodoxy

Adherents of Oriental Orthodox Christianity in Denmark are also traditionally organized in accordance with their patrimonial ecclesiastical jurisdictions, each community having its own parishes and priests. Oriental Orthodox Danes of Armenian origin belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church.[24] Those of Coptic origin belong to the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Stockholm and Scandinavia.[25]

Restorationism

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

"Visiting a country carpenter" (1856) by Christen Dalsgaard, depicting a mid-19th century visit of a Missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to a Danish carpenter's workshop. The first missionaries from the faith arrived in Denmark in 1850.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been sending missionaries to Denmark since 14 June 1850.[26][27] Most of the early converts emigrated to the United States. There are currently over 4,500 members of the church in Denmark.[27] There is a Temple in Copenhagen, known as the Copenhagen Denmark Temple.[28]

History

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Folkekirkens medlemmer". folkekirken.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  2. ↑ Johansen, Tobias Stern (23 December 2009). "Hver fjerde dansker tror på Jesus" [One in four Danes believes in Jesus] (in Danish). Kristeligt Dagblad. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013: The poll was carried out in December 2009 using a cross-section of 1114 Danes between the ages 18 and 74.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  3. ↑ "Constitution of Denmark – Section IV" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016. The Evangelical Lutheran Church shall be the Established Church of Denmark, and, as such, it shall be supported by the State.
  4. ↑ "TABEL 123. Befolkningens Fordeling indenfor Troessainfund. 1890". p. CLXXXIII. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Folketællingen i Kongeriget Danmark - den 1. februar 1991". p. 38. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  6. ↑ Church membership 1984 Danmarks statistik (in Danish)
  7. ↑ Statistics Denmark Statistikbanken.dk
  8. ↑ § 4, "the Evangelical-Lutheran Church is the Danish people's church and is supported as such by the State" ("den evangelisk-lutherske kirke er den danske folkekirke og understøttes som sådan af staten")
  9. ↑ "Denmark – Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor". International Religious Freedom Report 2009. U.S. Department of State. 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  10. ↑ Manchin, Robert (21 September 2004). "Religion in Europe: Trust Not Filling the Pews". Gallup Poll. The Gallup Organization. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  11. ↑ dst.dk, "Kraftig stigning i udmeldelser af folkekirken", February 28, 2013
  12. ↑ "Bekendtgørelse om stiftelse og ophør af medlemskab af folkekirken". retsinformation.dk.
  13. ↑ "Bekendtgørelse af lov om medlemskab af folkekirken, kirkelig betjening og sognebåndsløsning". retsinformation.dk.
  14. ↑ Statistics Archived 2012-06-27 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ Den reformerte Meighed i Fredericia
  16. 1 2 Deutsch-Reformierte Kirche zu Kopenhagen
  17. ↑ Eglise réformée française
  18. ↑ Korean-Reformed Church in Denmark
  19. ↑ Johnstone, Patrick; Miller, Duane (2015). "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census". IJRR. 11: 14. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  20. ↑ The Catholic Church in Denmark
  21. ↑ Russian Orthodox Church in Denmark
  22. ↑ "Serbian Orthodox Church in Denmark". Archived from the original on 2017-11-26. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  23. ↑ Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Northern Europe
  24. ↑ Armenian Apostolic Church in Denmark
  25. ↑ Coptic Orthodox Church in Denmark
  26. ↑ "Denmark", Newsroom (Press release), LDS Church, 2 April 2011
  27. 1 2 "Kirkens begyndelse i Danmark (Church beginnings in Denmark)", mormon.dk (in Danish), LDS Church
  28. ↑ "Copenhagen Denmark Temple", churchofjesuschrist.org, LDS Church
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