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69-452: The 621-square-kilometre (240 sq mi) municipality is the 186th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Vindafjord is the 122nd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 8,844. The municipality's population density is 14.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (38/sq mi) and its population has increased by 2.7% over the previous 10-year period. During

138-625: A few years later enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral . The cathedral with its shrine to St. Olav became the major Nordic place of pilgrimage until the Lutheran reformation in 1537. The whereabouts of Saint Olaf's grave have been unknown since 1568. Saint Olaf is traditionally regarded as being responsible for the final conversion of Norway to Christianity, and is still seen as Norway's patron saint and "eternal king" ( Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae ). The Nordic churches were initially subordinate to

207-501: A little less than the land area of Puerto Rico , 8,868 square kilometres (3,424 sq mi). Although the arithmetic density is the most common way of measuring population density, several other methods have been developed to provide alternative measures of population density over a specific area. Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( Bokmål : Den norske kirke , Nynorsk : Den norske kyrkja , Northern Sami : Norgga girku , Southern Sami : Nöörjen gærhkoe )

276-625: A number of large Christian organizations were created; they still serve as a "second line" in Church structure. The most notable of these are the Norwegian Missionary Society and the Norwegian Lutheran Mission . During World War II , after Vidkun Quisling became Minister President of Norway and introduced a number of controversial measures such as state-controlled education, the church's bishops and

345-478: A person to end membership in the Church of Norway. The Dissenter Act ( Lov angaaende dem, der bekjende sig til den christelige Religion, uden at være medlemmer af Statskirken ) was approved by the Storting on 16 July 1845 to allow the establishment of alternative religious (Christian) bodies. This act was replaced in 1969 by Lov om trudomssamfunn og ymist anna . Until 2012, the constitutional head of

414-573: A provost are known as provostship priest ( prostiprest ). All priests were appointed by the King-in-Council until the late 20th century and thus held the status of embetsmann (higher civil servant appointed by the King). Prior to 2000 ordination required the theological civil servant examination ( cand.theol. ) that required six years of university studies, but from 2000 other equivalent degrees may also be accepted for certain applicants over

483-652: A suite of (open and free) data and tools named the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) to improve the science for policy support to the European Commission Directorate Generals and Services and as support to the United Nations system. Several of the most densely populated territories in the world are city-states , microstates and urban dependencies . In fact, 95% of the world's population

552-495: A year, is the highest representative body of the church. It consists of 85 representatives, of whom seven or eight are sent from each of the dioceses. Of these, four are lay members appointed by the congregations; one is a lay member appointed by church employees; one is a member appointed by the clergy; and the bishop. In addition, one representative from the Sami community in each of the three northernmost dioceses, representatives from

621-452: Is a key geographical term. Population density is population divided by total land area , sometimes including seas and oceans, as appropriate. Low densities may cause an extinction vortex and further reduce fertility. This is called the Allee effect after the scientist who identified it. Examples of the causes of reduced fertility in low population densities are: Population density is

690-858: Is a member of Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe , having signed the Leuenberg Agreement with other Lutheran and Reformed churches in 1973. It is also a member of the Porvoo Communion with 12 other churches, among them, the Anglican churches of Europe. It has also signed some other ecumenical texts, including the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Roman Catholic Church and

759-454: Is a member, automatically become members. This has been controversial, because many become members without knowing, and this favours the Church of Norway over other churches. This law remained unchanged even after the separation of church and state in 2012. In 2000, the Church of Norway appointed the first openly partnered gay priest. In 2007, a majority in the general synod voted in favour of accepting people living in same-sex relations into

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828-669: Is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway . The church became the state church of Norway around 1020, and was established as a separate church intimately integrated with the state as a result of the Lutheran reformation in Denmark–Norway which broke ties with the Holy See in 1536–1537; the King of Norway was

897-495: Is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was meant to give the appearance of a collection of rorbuer or nauster (these are typical Norwegian boat houses that are often painted red and white). There were five shapes used in order to represent the five predecessor municipalitites that were merged into Vindafjord in 1965: Sandeid , Vikedal , Imsland , Vats , and Skjold . The arms were designed by John Digernes. The municipal flag has

966-445: Is concentrated on just 10% of the world's land. These territories have a relatively small area and a high urbanization level, with an economically specialized city population drawing also on rural resources outside the area, illustrating the difference between high population density and overpopulation . Deserts have very limited potential for growing crops as there is not enough rain to support them. Thus, their population density

1035-773: Is generally low. However, some cities in the Middle East, such as Dubai , have been increasing in population and infrastructure growth at a fast pace. Cities with high population densities are, by some, considered to be overpopulated, though this will depend on factors like quality of housing and infrastructure and access to resources. Very densely populated cities are mostly in Asia (particularly Southeast Asia ); Africa's Lagos , Kinshasa , and Cairo ; South America's Bogotá , Lima , and São Paulo ; and Mexico City and Saint Petersburg also fall into this category. City population and especially area are, however, heavily dependent on

1104-547: Is governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor is indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality is under the jurisdiction of the Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal . The municipal council ( Kommunestyre ) of Vindafjord is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show

1173-400: Is retained", On 27 May 2016 Stortinget ( Parliament of Norway ) approved a new legislative act to establish the Church of Norway as an independent legal entity rather than a branch of the civil service, and the law took effect on 1 January 2017. The church remains state funded. Until 1845 the Church of Norway was the only legal religious organization in Norway and it was not possible for

1242-589: The Book of Concord: Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church presented in 1580. All Evangelical Lutheran clergy (bishops, priests/pastors, deacons and other ministers) along with the teaching in classes for the Rite of Confirmation for young people and those considering full adult membership are required to read and understand with clergy swearing faithfulness at their ordination . The church

1311-875: The Archbishop of Bremen , until the Nordic Archdiocese of Lund was established in 1103. The separate Norwegian Archdiocese of Nidaros (in today's Trondheim ) was created in 1152, and by the end of the 12th century covered all of Norway , parts of present Sweden , Iceland , Greenland , the Isle of Man , the Orkney Islands , the Shetland Islands , the Faroe Islands and the Hebrides . Another site of medieval pilgrimage in Norway

1380-822: The Evangelical Lutheran tradition of Western Christian faith, with its foundation on the Bible ' s Old and New Testaments and occasionally including the Apocrapha , along with the three historic creeds of faith in the Apostles' , Nicene , and Athanasian Creeds , Luther's Small Catechism , Luther's Large Catechism , the Smalcald Articles and the Augsburg Confession of 1530, along with several other seminal documents in

1449-658: The Holy See , around two decades after the start of the Protestant Reformation . It later resulted in the separation of the Catholic Church dioceses in Norway and throughout Scandinavia and establishment of a state church intimately integrated with the state and completely subject to royal authority, with the King as Head of the Church on Earth instead of the Pope/Bishop of Rome. This action followed

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1518-453: The Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan in the city of Lund , Sweden , in 2016. As of 2017 the church is legally independent of the government. According to the constitution it serves as the "people's church" in the Kingdom of Norway . Until 1969, the church's name for administrative purposes was simply the "State Church" or sometimes just "the Church", whereas

1587-558: The Sami Church Council is responsible for the Church of Norway's work among the country's indigenous Sami people. The Bishops' Conference of the Church of Norway convenes three times a year, and consists of the twelve bishops in the church (the 11 diocesan bishops and the Preses ). It issues opinions on various issues related to church life and theological matters. The church also convenes committees and councils both at

1656-499: The administrative centre of Ølen . The municipality (created in 1965) is named after the Vindafjorden ( Old Norse : Vindafjǫrðr ), a fjord that runs through the eastern part of the municipality. The first element is derived from the verb vinda which means "to turn" or "to twist", referring to the sharp turn of the fjord at Dragneset. The last element is fjǫrðr which means " fjord ". The original coat of arms

1725-535: The 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee . On 1 January 1965, the new municipality of Vindafjord was created from several areas in northern Rogaland county: Initially, Vindafjord had 4,616 residents. On 1 January 1969, the Sponevik farm (population: 6) was transferred from Vindafjord to the neighboring municipality of Tysvær . Then on 1 January 1978,

1794-409: The 2012 constitutional reform. Each parish has an autonomous administration. The state itself does not administer church buildings; buildings and adjacent land instead belong to the parish as an independent public institution. The Minister of Church Affairs, Trond Giske , was responsible for proposing the 2012 amendments, explaining that "the state church is retained". An act approved in 2016 created

1863-415: The Church of Norway as an independent legal entity, effective from 1 January 2017. The church has an episcopal-synodal structure, with 1,284 parishes, 106 deaneries, 11 dioceses and, since 2 October 2011, one area under the supervision of the Preses . The dioceses are, according to the rank of the five historic sees and then according to age: The General Synod of the Church of Norway, which convenes once

1932-580: The Church of Norway increased autonomy, and states that "the Church of Norway, an Evangelical-Lutheran church, remains Norway's people's church, and is supported by the State as such" ('people's church' or folkekirke is also the name of the Danish state church , Folkekirken ), replacing the earlier expression which stated that "the Evangelical-Lutheran religion remains the public religion of

2001-471: The Church of Norway voted to allow same-sex marriages . The decision was ratified on 11 April 2016. The first same-sex marriage ceremony in the church occurred on 1 February 2017 just after midnight. On 21 May 2012, the Norwegian Parliament passed a constitutional amendment for the second time (such amendments must be passed twice in separate parliaments to come into effect) that granted

2070-484: The Church of Norway was a church free of the State. Since World War II, a number of structural changes have taken place within the Church of Norway, mostly to institutionalize lay participation in the life of the church. Norwegians are registered at baptism as members of the Church of Norway, and many remain members, using services such as baptism , confirmation , marriage and burial, rites which still have cultural standing in Norway. 68.7% of Norwegians were members of

2139-407: The Church of Norway. The church is led by ordained priests , traditionally and primarily divided into the ranks chaplain , parish priest ( sogneprest ) who was traditionally the head of a parish ( prestegjeld ; literally area that owes allegiance to a priest), provost ( prost ) and bishop . Today more priests may hold the title parish priest, while some priests who work directly under

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2208-604: The Church of Norway. The Church of Norway does not own church buildings, which are instead owned by the parish and maintained by the municipality. The focus of church life is the Sunday Communion and other services, most commonly celebrated at 11:00 a.m. The liturgy is similar to that in use in the Roman Catholic Church. The language is entirely Norwegian, apart from the Kyrie Eleison , and

2277-469: The Constitution states that the church is to be Evangelical-Lutheran. After the changes in 1997 and 2012, until the change in 2017, all clergy remained civil servants (state employees), and the central and regional church administrations remained a part of the state administration. The Church of Norway is regulated by its own law ( kirkeloven ) and all municipalities are required by law to support

2346-460: The Lutherans, Presbyterians, Reformed, Methodists, etc. Until the modern era, the Church of Norway was not only a religious organisation but also one of the most important instruments of royal power and official authority, and an important part of the state administration, especially at the local and regional levels. The church professes to be "truly Catholic, truly Reformed, truly Evangelical" in

2415-557: The Netherlands (now in Belgium). Catholic priests were persecuted, monastic orders were suppressed, and the crown took over church property, while some churches were plundered and abandoned, even destroyed. Bishops (initially called superintendents ) were appointed by the king. This brought forth tight integration between church and state. After the introduction of absolute monarchy in 1660 all clerics were civil servants appointed by

2484-538: The Reformation until 2017, when the church became a legal entity separate from the state administration. The Church of Norway is mentioned specifically in the 1814 constitution and is subject to the Church Act. Municipalities are required by law to support activities of parishes and to maintain church buildings and church yards. Other religious communities are entitled to the same level of government subsidies as

2553-409: The State." The constitution also says that Norway's values are based on its Christian and humanist heritage, and according to the Constitution, the king is required to be Lutheran. The government still provides funding for the church as it does with other faith-based institutions, but the responsibility for appointing bishops and provosts now rests with the church instead of the government. Prior to 1997,

2622-498: The Vormestrand area along the southern shore of the Vindafjorden (population: 13) was transferred to neighboring Suldal municipality. On 1 January 2006, Vindafjord merged with the neighboring municipality of Ølen (population: 3,420). Ølen had transferred from Hordaland county to Rogaland county 2002. After the merger, the municipal centre of Vindafjord was moved from Sandeid to the village of Ølensjøen , which had been

2691-541: The activities of the Church of Norway and municipal authorities are represented in its local bodies. The amendment was a result of a compromise from 2008. Minister of Church Affairs Trond Giske then emphasized that the Church of Norway remains Norway's state church , stating that "the state church is retained. Neither the Labour Party nor the Centre Party had a mandate to agree to separate church and state." Of

2760-521: The age of 35 with relevant experience. Norway was gradually Christianized beginning at the end of the Early Middle Ages and was part of Western Christianity , acknowledging papal authority until the 16th century. The Roman Catholic Church exercised a significant degree of sovereignty in Norway and essentially shared power with the King of Norway as the secular ruler. The Lutheran reformation in Denmark–Norway in 1536–1537 broke ties with

2829-502: The appointments of parish priests and residing chaplains was also the responsibility of the government, but the church was granted the right to hire such clergy directly with the new Church Law of 1997. The 2012 amendment implies that the church's own governing bodies, rather than the Council of State , appoints bishops. The government and the parliament no longer have an oversight function with regard to day-to-day doctrinal issues, although

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2898-507: The arms are a whirl design that divides the shield into 8 curved sections. The field (background) alternates colors, with half having a tincture of green and the other half have a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The design was chosen to symbolise the way that several major roads come together in the municipality, making it an important centre of trade. The arms were designed by Vigdis Viland. The municipal flag has

2967-504: The base of the Haugalandet peninsula, connecting the mainland to the city of Haugesund on the western end of the peninsula. The European route E134 highway runs through the municipality. Population density Population density (in agriculture : standing stock or plant density ) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans , but sometimes to other living organisms too. It

3036-411: The church as the country's " people's church " and requires the King of Norway to be a member. It is by far the largest church in Norway; until the mid 19th century the state church had a near-total monopoly on religion in Norway. It was the only legal church in Norway, membership was mandatory for every person residing in the kingdom and it was forbidden for anyone other than the official priests of

3105-637: The church was the King of Norway , who is obliged to profess himself a Lutheran. After the constitutional amendment of 21 May 2012, the church is self-governed with regard to doctrinal issues and appointment of clergy. The Church of Norway was subject to legislation, including its budgets, passed by the Storting, and its central administrative functions were carried out by the Royal Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs until 2017. Bishops and priests were civil servants also after

3174-461: The church's head from 1537 to 2012. Historically the church was one of the main instruments of royal power and official authority, and an important part of the state administration; local government was based on the church's parishes with significant official responsibility held by the parish priest. In the 19th and 20th centuries it gradually ceded most administrative functions to the secular civil service. The modern Constitution of Norway describes

3243-554: The constitution described it as the "Evangelical-Lutheran Church". A constitutional amendment of 21 May 2012 designates the church as "Norway's people's church" ( Norges Folkekirke ), with a new provision that is almost a verbatim copy of the provision for the Danish state church ( folkekirken ) in the Constitution of Denmark ; the Minister of Church Affairs Trond Giske stressed that the reform meant that "the state church

3312-557: The current and historical composition of the council by political party . The mayors ( Norwegian : ordfører ) of Vindafjord (incomplete list): The municipality of Vindafjord lies south of the Hardangerfjorden and north of the Skjoldafjorden and Vindafjorden . The Sandeidfjorden flows through the municipality also. The lake Vatsvatnet lies in the central part of the municipality. The municipality sits near

3381-547: The definition of "urban area" used: densities are almost invariably higher for the center only than when suburban settlements and intervening rural areas are included, as in the agglomeration or metropolitan area (the latter sometimes including neighboring cities). In comparison, based on a world population of 8 billion, the world's inhabitants, if conceptualized as a loose crowd occupying just under 1 m (10 sq ft) per person (cf. Jacobs Method ), would occupy an area of 8,000 square kilometres (3,100 sq mi)

3450-520: The example set earlier in the reformation of the Church of England (Anglican Church) that was begun by the intense political action and requests for an annulment by King Henry VIII . This was followed in later centuries by a worldwide movement of the Anglican Communion which later recognized in the 20th and 21st century and declared intercommunion with several other denominations such as

3519-616: The government parties, the Labour Party and the Centre Party supported a continued state church, while only the Socialist Left Party preferred a separation of church and state, although all parties eventually voted for the 2008 compromise. The final amendment passed by a vote of 162–3. The three dissenting votes, Lundteigen , Ramsøy , and Toppe , were all from the Centre Party . Though still supported by

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3588-685: The king, but theological issues were left to the hierarchy of bishops and other clergy. When Norway regained national independence from Denmark in 1814, the Norwegian Constitution recognized the Lutheran church as the state church. The pietism movement in Norway (embodied to a great extent by the Haugean movement fostered by Hans Nielsen Hauge ) has served to reduce the distance between laity and clergy in Norway. In 1842, lay congregational meetings were accepted in church life, though initially with limited influence. In following years,

3657-688: The liturgy for High Mass: (If there is a baptism it together with the Apostles' Creed may take place here or after the Sermon) (If there is no Communion, i.e., the Eucharist , the service concludes with the Lord's Prayer, an optional Offering, the Blessing and a moment of silent prayer) The Church of Norway traces its origins to the introduction of Christianity to Norway in the 9th century. Norway

3726-535: The national level (such as the Doctrinal Commission ( Den norske kirkes lærenemnd ), and at diocesan and local levels, addressing specific issues related to education, ecumenical matters, the Sami minority and youth. There are 1,600 Church of Norway churches and chapels. Parish work is led by a priest and an elected parish council. There are more than 1,200 clergy (in 2007, 21% were women ministers) in

3795-510: The number of people per unit of area, usually transcribed as "per square kilometer" or square mile, and which may include or exclude, for example, areas of water or glaciers. Commonly this is calculated for a county , city , country , another territory or the entire world . The world's population is around 8,000,000,000 and the Earth 's total area (including land and water) is 510,000,000 km (200,000,000 sq mi). Therefore,

3864-496: The population attends church services or other religious meetings more than once a month. Baptism of infants fell from 96.8% in 1960 to 51.4% in 2019, while the proportion of confirmands fell from 93% in 1960 to 54.4% in 2019. The proportion of weddings to be celebrated in the Church of Norway fell from 85.2% in 1960 to 31.3% in 2019. In 2019 85.5% of all funerals took place in the Church of Norway. A survey conducted by Gallup International in 65 countries in 2005 found that Norway

3933-405: The priesthood. In 2008, the Norwegian Parliament voted to establish same-sex civil marriages, and the bishops allowed prayers for same-sex couples. In 2014, a proposed liturgy for same-sex marriages was rejected by the general synod. This question created much unrest in the Church of Norway and seems to serve as a trigger for conversions to independent congregations and other churches. In 2015,

4002-537: The same design as the coat of arms. The Church of Norway has eight parishes ( sokn ) within the municipality of Vindafjord. It is part of the Haugaland prosti ( deanery ) in the Diocese of Stavanger . Vindafjord Municipality is responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services , senior citizen services, welfare and other social services , zoning , economic development , and municipal roads and utilities. The municipality

4071-507: The same design as the coat of arms. A new coat of arms was granted on 10 March 2006, shortly after the merger of Ølen with Vindafjord. The new arms were a mix of the arms of the two municipalities which were merged. The swirling design is taken from the old coat of arms of Ølen and the colours (red and silver/white) are from the old arms of Vindafjord. The official blazon is " Gyronny embowed argent and gules " ( Norwegian : Åttedelt av kvitt og raudt ved virvelsnitt ). This means

4140-400: The singing of hymns accompanied by organ music is central. A priest (often with lay assistants) celebrates the service, wearing an alb and stole . In addition, a chasuble is worn by the priest during the Eucharist and, increasingly, during the whole service. The Church of Norway baptises children, usually infants and usually as part of ordinary Sunday services. This is a summary of

4209-522: The state Church of Norway as of the end of 2019, a 1.2% drop compared to the year before and down about 11% from ten years earlier. However, only 20% of Norwegians say that religion occupies an important place in their life (according to a recent Gallup poll ), making Norway one of the most secular countries of the world (only in Estonia , Sweden and Denmark were the percentages of people who considered religion to be important lower), and only about 3% of

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4278-404: The state church to authorise religious meetings. After the adoption of the 1845 Dissenter Act , the state church retained its legally privileged position, while minority religious congregations such as Catholics were allowed to establish themselves in Norway and were legally termed "dissenters" (i.e. from the government-sanctioned Lutheran state religion). Church employees were civil servants from

4347-656: The three theological seminaries, representatives from the youth council. Other members of the national council are also members of the general synod. The national council, the executive body of the synod, is convened five times a year and comprises 15 members, of whom ten are lay members, four are clergy and one is the presiding bishop. It prepares matters for decision-making elsewhere and puts those decisions into effect. The council also has working and ad hoc groups, addressing issues such as church service, education and youth issues. The Council on Ecumenical and International Relations deals with international and ecumenical matters, and

4416-473: The vast majority of the clergy disassociated themselves from the government in the Foundations of the Church ( Kirkens Grunn ) declaration of Easter 1942, stating that they would function only as pastors for their congregations, not as civil servants. The bishops were interned with deposed clergy and theological candidates from 1943, but congregational life continued more or less as usual. For three years

4485-599: The worldwide human population density is approximately 8,000,000,000 ÷ 510,000,000 = 16/km (41/sq mi). However, if only the Earth's land area of 150,000,000 km (58,000,000 sq mi) is taken into account, then human population density is 53/km (140/sq mi). This includes all continental and island land area, including Antarctica . However, if Antarctica is excluded, then population density rises to over 58 per square kilometre (150/sq mi). The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has developed

4554-416: Was Christianized as a result of missions from both the British Isles (by Haakon I of Norway and Olaf I of Norway ), and from the Continent (by Ansgar ). It took several hundred years to complete the Christianization, culminating on 29 July 1030 with the Battle of Stiklestad , when King Olaf II of Norway was killed. One year later, on 3 August 1031, he was canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell , and

4623-411: Was granted on 12 December 1986 and it was in use until a new coat of arms was approved on 10 March 2006. The official blazon is " Gules , five chevrons argent two over two over one" ( Norwegian : På raud grunn fem svevande kvite sparrar, 2-2-1 ). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is a set of five chevrons . The charge has a tincture of argent which means it

4692-438: Was the island of Selja on the northwest coast, with its memories of Saint Sunniva and its three monastery churches with Celtic influence, similar to Skellig Michael . The Reformation in Norway was accomplished by force in 1537 when Christian III of Denmark and Norway declared Lutheranism as the official religion of Norway and Denmark, sending the Roman Catholic archbishop, Olav Engelbrektsson , into exile in Lier in

4761-474: Was the least religious among the Western countries surveyed, with only 36% of the population considering themselves religious, 9% considering themselves atheist, and 46% considering themselves "neither religious nor atheist". In spite of the relatively low level of religious practice in Norwegian society, the local clergy often play important social roles outside their spiritual and liturgical responsibilities. By law all children who have at least one parent who

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