Norwegian literature

History of Norwegian literature starts with the pagan Eddaic poems and skaldic verse of the 9th and 10th centuries with poets such as Bragi Boddason and Eyvindr skáldaspillir. The arrival of Christianity around the year 1000 brought Norway into contact with European mediaeval learning, hagiography and history writing. Merged with native oral tradition and Icelandic influence this was to flower into an active period of literature production in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Major works of that period include Historia Norwegiæ, Þiðrekssaga and Konungs skuggsjá.

Little Norwegian literature came out of the period of the Scandinavian Union and the subsequent Dano-Norwegian union (1387—1814), with some notable exceptions such as Petter Dass and Ludvig Holberg. In his play Peer Gynt, Ibsen characterized this period as "Twice two hundred years of darkness/brooded o'er the race of monkeys", although the latter line is not as frequently quoted as the former. During the union with Denmark, written Norwegian was replaced by Danish.

Two major events precipitated a major resurgence in Norwegian literature. In 1811 a Norwegian university was established in Christiania. Seized by the spirit of revolution following the American and French Revolutions, the Norwegians signed their first Constitution in 1814. Soon, the cultural backwater that was Norway brought forth a series of strong authors recognized first in Scandinavia, and then worldwide; among them were Henrik Wergeland, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Jørgen Moe and Camilla Collett.

By the late 19th century, in the Golden Age of Norwegian literature, the so-called Great Four emerged: Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Alexander Kielland, and Jonas Lie. Bjørnson's "peasant novels", such as "En glad gutt" (A Happy Boy) and "Synnøve Solbakken" are typical of the national romanticism of their day, whereas Kielland's novels and short stories are mostly realistic. Although an important contributor to early Norwegian romantic nationalism (especially the ironic Peer Gynt), Henrik Ibsen's fame rests primarily on his pioneering realistic dramas such The Wild Duck and A Doll's House, many of which caused moral uproar because of their candid portrayals of the middle classes.

In the 20th century, three Norwegian novelists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in 1903, Knut Hamsun for the book "Markens grøde" ("Growth of the Soil") in 1920, and Sigrid Undset in 1928. Further important contributions to Norwegian literature were made by writers like Dag Solstad, Jon Fosse, Cora Sandel, Olav Duun, Olav H. Hauge, Gunvor Hofmo, Stein Mehren, Kjell Askildsen, Hans Herbjørnsrud, Aksel Sandemose, Bergljot Hobæk Haff, Jostein Gaarder, Erik Fosnes Hansen, Jens Bjørneboe, Kjartan Fløgstad, Lars Saabye Christensen, Johan Borgen, Herbjørg Wassmo, Jan Erik Vold, Rolf Jacobsen, Olaf Bull, Jan Kjærstad, Georg Johannesen, Tarjei Vesaas, Sigurd Hoel, Arnulf Øverland and Johan Falkberget.

Culture of Norway

The unique Norwegian farm culture, sustained to this day, has resulted not only from scarce resources and a harsh climate but also from ancient property laws. In the 18th century, it brought about a strong romantic nationalistic movement, which is still visible in the Norwegian language and media. In the 19th century, Norwegian culture blossomed as efforts continued to achieve an independent identity in the areas of literature, art and music. This continues today in the performing arts and as a result of government support for exhibitions, cultural projects and artwork.

Norway has been, in many regards, an early adopter of women's rights, minority rights, and LGBT rights. For example, in 1990 Norway was the first country to recognize the ILO-convention 169 on indigenous people, and in 1913 become one of the first countries to grant women universal suffrage (without conditions on civil status). It was also the first independent nation to allow women to run for elected office.

In regards to LGBT rights, Norway was the first country in the world to enact an anti-discrimination law protecting the rights of gays and lesbians. In 1993 Norway became the second country to legalize civil union partnerships for same-sex couples, and on January 1, 2009, Norway became the sixth country to grant full marriage equality to same-sex couples.

However, only in 1990 was the Norwegian constitution altered to grant absolute primogeniture to the Norwegian throne, meaning that the eldest child, regardless of gender, takes precedence in the line of succession. This was not done retroactively, meaning that even now the current successor to the throne is not the eldest child to the King, but the eldest son. The Norwegian constitution Article 6 states that “For those born before the year 1990 it shall  be the case that a male shall take precedence over a female.

An ardent promoter of human rights, Norway is home to the annual Oslo Freedom Forum conference, a gathering described by The Economist as “on its way to becoming a human-rights equivalent of the Davos economic forum.

Communist Workers League

Communist Workers League ,Kommunistisk Arbeiderforbund, was a small communist group in Norway. It was formed in 1972 by a group of Communist Party of Norway militants, who had either been expelled or left voluntarily. First KA oriented itself towards China, and later towards Albania.

KA published Den Røde Arbeideren (The Red Worker) annually in connection with May Day until 2005.

During the 1970s KA published Røde Fane (Red Flag).

In the spring of 2006 the group announced that it had dissolved itself.

Religion in Norway

Norwegians are registered at baptism as members of the Church of Norway; many remain in the state church to be able to use services such as baptism, confirmation, marriage and burial, rites which have strong cultural standing in Norway. About 79.2% of Norwegians were members of the Church of Norway as of January 1, 2010. However, only 20% of Norwegians say that religion occupies an important place in their life (according to a recent Gallup poll), the fourth-lowest such percentage in the world (ahead of only Estonia, Sweden and Denmark). In the early 1990s, it was estimated that between 4.7% – 5.3% of Norwegians attended church on a weekly basis. This figure has dropped to about 2% – the lowest such percentage in Europe – according to 2009 and 2010 data

In 2010, 10% of the population was religiously unaffiliated, while another 9% (431 000 people), were members of religious and life stance communities outside the Church of Norway. Other Christian denominations total about 4.9% of the population, the largest of which is the Catholic Church, with 57,000 members. Others include Pentecostals (39,600), the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway (19,300), Methodists (11,000), Baptists (9,400), Orthodox (7,700)Adventists (5,100),Assyrians and Chaldeans, and others. The Swedish, Finnish and Icelandic Lutheran congregations in Norway have about 22,500 members in total. Other religions comprise less than 1% each, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and 15,000 Jehovah's Witnesses.

Among non-Christian religions, Islam is the largest with the population of about 150,000. It is practiced mainly by Somali, Arab, Albanian, and Turkish immigrants, as well as Norwegians of Pakistani descent. Other religions comprise less than 1% each, including 803 adherents of Judaism. Indian immigrants introduced Hinduism to Norway, which in 2009 has slightly more than 5,200 adherents, or 1% of non-Lutheran Norwegians. There are eleven Buddhist organizations, grouped under the Buddhistforbundet organization, with slightly over 12,000 members, which make up 0.42% of the population. The Baha'i religion has slightly more than 1,000 adherents. Sikhism has 2,700. Around 1.5% of Norwegians adhere to the secular Norwegian Humanist Association.

From 2000 to 2009, the fastest-growing religious faith in Norway was Orthodox Christianity, which grew in membership by 231.1%; however, its share of the total population remains small.

According to the Eurobarometer Poll 2005, at that time 32% of Norwegian citizens responded that "they believe there is a god". A study conducted three years previously by Gustafsson and Pettersson (2002), similarly found that 72% of Norwegians did not believe in a 'personal God.

Like other Scandinavian countries, the Norse followed a form of native Germanic paganism known as Norse paganism. By the end of the 11th century, when Norway had been Christianized, the indigenous Norse religion and practices were prohibited. Remnants of the native religion and beliefs of Norway survive today in the form of names, referential names of cities and locations, the days of the week, and other parts of the everyday language. Modern interest in the old ways has led to a revival of the pagan religious practices in the form of Asatru. The Norwegian Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost formed in 1996; as of 2005, the fellowship has some 200 members. Foreningen Forn Sed formed in 1999 and has been recognized by the Norwegian government as a religious organization.

Parts of the Sami minority retained their shamanistic religion well into the 18th century when they were converted to Christianity by Dano-Norwegian missionaries.

Religion Members Percent As of 2010

Lutheranism 3,919,571 80.6%

Catholicism 66,972 1.3%

Pentecostalism 39,923 0.8%

Jehovah's Witnesses 11,640 0.2%

Methodism 11,082 0.2%

Baptism 9,749 0.2%

Orthodoxy 8,492 0.1%

Seventh-day Adventist Church 5,136 0.1%

Other Christianity 20,793 0.4%

Non-Christian religions 121,321 2.4%

Islam 98,953 2.0%

Buddhism 13,376 0.2%

Hinduism 5,175 0.1%

Sikhism 1,037 0.02%

Bahá'í Faith 1,012 0.02%

Judaism 818 0.02%

Other religions 950 0.02%

Non-religious and unknown 643,520 13.2%

Humanism 82,890 1.7%

Total 4,858,199 100.0%

Norway Immigration

In recent years, immigration has accounted for most of Norway's population growth. According to Statistics Norway (SSB), a record 61,200 immigrants arrived in the country in 2007, an increase of 35% from 2006. At the beginning of 2010, there were 552,313 people in Norway of some immigrant background (including those born of immigrant parents), comprising 11.4% of the total population. 210,725 were from Western countries (Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) and 341,588 were from other countries. The largest immigrant groups by country of origin, in order of size, are Poles, Swedes, Pakistanis, Iraqis, Somalis, Germans, Vietnamese, and Danes.

Pakistani Norwegians are the largest non-European minority group in Norway, and most of their 31,000 members live around Oslo. The Iraqi immigrant population has increased significantly in recent years. After the enlargement of the EU in 2004, there has also been an influx of immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe, particularly Poland. The large 2007 immigrant group was primarily from Poland, Germany, Sweden, Lithuania and Russia.

In 2011 there were approximately 883,000 people of some non-Norwegian background residing in Norway, or 18% of the total population. In 2010, the immigrant community grew by 57,000, which accounted for 90% of Norway's population growth; some 27% of newborn children were of immigrant background. The policies of immigration and integration are subjected to major controversy in Norway. These statistics indicate that Norway's population is now 82.0% ethnic Norwegian, a figure that has steadily decreased since the late 20th century. Some 12.2% of the population is of solely immigrant background, while 5.7% of the population is of mixed Norwegian-foreign ancestry. People of other European ethnicity are 5.8% of the total, while Asians (including Pakistanis, Iraqis, and Turks) are 4.3%, Africans 1.5%, and others 0.6%.

Ethnicity Population Percent

Norwegians 4,037,301 82.0%

Swedes 78,830 1.6%

Poles 65,294 1.3%

Danes 53,630 1.0%

Germans 40,847 0.8%

Britons 36,312 0.7%

Pakistanis 35,722 0.7%