The Church of Norway and the Sami Fight against Wind Turbines: A Case Study
Year: 2024
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: The theme of this chapter is the Church of Norway (CoN) and its role in the debate over wind turbines in traditional Sámi grazing areas that the supreme court has verdict as illegal. The article explores the historical background of the conflict, how the different CoN spokespersons acted and the clergy’s theological and ethical arguments. The writers shows that the church representatives’ interpretation of the situation has been fairly similar: all of the church leaders involved argued that the wind turbines should not have been built. The bishops in the Sámi counties of CoN have all acted as advocates for Sámi rights. In different ways and at different times, they have gone public in support of the Sámi demand that the Norwegian government respect the Supreme Court judgement and implement the verdict. They carried out active advocacy by preaching, chronicling events and, in one case, writing a letter to the government. Several local priests adopted a similar strategy, some proactively writing letters to the Bishops’ Synod and the Church Synod and others not responding until the media contacted them. Several of the priests said they used the liturgy and church services as arenas to put the conflict in the spotlight. Trinity Church’s approach stood out in a sense that it provided physical care to the youth taking part in the protest.
Institution: VID Specialized University
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W7204236860