Villingerød Church

  A Mosque in Copenhagen of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. First Mosque in Denmark.

Of all the religions in Denmark, the most prominent is Christianity in the form of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark, the official state church. However, pockets of virtually all faiths can be found among the population. The second largest faith is Islam, due to immigration in the 1980 and 90s. In general, however, Danes are secular, and church attendance is generally low.

  Overview

Another study by Eurobarometer Poll 2005,^[1] 31% of Danish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 49% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 19% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". Though Christmas is considered to be Denmark's most celebrated holiday, this is mostly due to cultural, rather than religious, reasons.

By the end of 2007, 82.1%^[2] of the Danish population were members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church which dropped to 81.5% in 2008.^[3] However, similar to the rest of Scandinavia, North-west Europe and Britain, only a small minority (less than 10 % of the total population) attends churches for Sunday services. In Copenhagen, membership of the Danish state church dropped to 65% in 2008.

Denmark's Muslims make up less than 2% of the population and is the country's second largest religious community. About 15% of the Danes do not belong to any denomination.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon or LDS Church) has been sending missionaries to Denmark since 14 June 1850.^[4][5] Most of the early converts emigrated to the United States. There are currently over 4,500 Mormons in Denmark.^[5] There is a LDS temple in Copenhagen, known as the Copenhagen Denmark Temple.^[6]

According to Danish Jørn Borup, (Department of the Study of Religion at the University of Aarhus, Denmark), there are around 20,000 followers of Buddhism in Denmark.^[7] Also, there are about 500 registered heathens (0.01% of the population) belonging to the old Norse beliefs.

With the exception of the Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs (and only some of them), politicians will not generally be found using religious rhetoric and arguments, especially not government ministers. The Christian Democrats is the only major political party which regularly uses religious rhetoric and arguments, and they have not been represented in the Folketing since 2001, as they have not been able to acquire the necessary 2% of the votes.

  Danish Constitution

The Constitution of Denmark contains a number of sections related to religion.

• §4 establishes the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark as the state church of Denmark.
• §6 requires the Danish monarch (currently Margrethe II of Denmark) to be a member of the state church.
• §67 grants freedom of worship.
• §68 states that no one is required to personally contribute to any form of religion other than his own. As state subsidies are not considered personal contributions^[8] the Church of Denmark receives subsidies - according to §4 - beyond the church tax paid by the members of the church. The Church of Denmark is the only religious group to receive direct financial support from the state. Other religious groups can receive indirect support through tax deductions on contributions.^[9]
• §70 grants freedom of religion by ensuring civil and political rights can not be revoked due to race or religious beliefs. It further states race and religious beliefs can not be used to be exempt from civil duties.
• §71 ensures no one can be imprisoned due to religious beliefs.

  See also

Denmark portal

• Christianization of Scandinavia
  • Christianity in Denmark
    • The Church of Denmark
    • Baptist Union of Denmark
    • Roman Catholicism in Denmark
    • Reformed Synod of Denmark
• Buddhism in Denmark
• Bahá'í Faith in Denmark
• Islam in Denmark
  • Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
• History of the Jews in Denmark
  • Rescue of the Danish Jews

  References

  External links

• Religion in Denmark
• Religion in Denmark

Denmark topics History Archaeology Viking Age Kalmar Union Reformation Colonization of the Americas Empire Scandinavian Monetary Union Occupation during WWII Rescue of the Danish Jews Postal history Geography Regions Municipalities Former counties Cities Islands Danish straits Rivers Trees Extreme points Government & Politics Constitution Prime Minister List Folketing Council of State Courts Foreign relations Political parties Social Democrats Social Liberal Party Conservative People's Party Socialist People's Party Danish People's Party Venstre Red-Green Alliance Elections Law Military Monarchy List Family tree Succession Crown Regalia Order of the Elephant Order of the Dannebrog Royal residences Economy National Bank Stock Exchange Krone Taxation Companies Communications Transport Tourism Society People List Demographics Crime Education LGBT rights Religion Culture International rankings Language Cinema Cuisine Literature Folklore Modern Breakthrough Music List Art List Architecture Photography Public holidays Sport Jante Law Scout Council Symbols Flag Coat of arms National anthem Royal anthem Category Portal WikiProject