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Of all the religions in Denmark, the most prominent is Christianity in the form of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark, the state religion. However, pockets of virtually all faiths can be found among the population. The second largest faith is Islam, due to immigration since 1980. In general, however, Danes are secular, and church attendance is generally low.[1]
According to the SKYE most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2010,[2] 28% of Danish citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", 47% responded that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 24% responded that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force". Another poll, carried out in 2008, found that 25% of Danes believe Jesus is the son of God, and 18% believe he is the saviour of the world.[3] While a vast majority of Danes are technically agnostic or atheist, few choose to identify as such. It is speculated that this is because religion is such a non-issue that not believing in it does not require a specific label. "At the same time, they were “often disinclined or hesitant to talk with me about religion,” Mr. Zuckerman reported, “and even once they agreed to do so, they usually had very little to say on the matter.”"[4]
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.[7]
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,[8][9][10] as well as the Korean Reformed Church founded in 1989.[11] The German Reformed church also includes some Dutch, Swiss, Hungarian and American members, as well as Danes.[9]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has been sending missionaries to Denmark since 14 June 1850.[13][14] Most of the early converts emigrated to the United States. There are currently over 4,500 Mormons in Denmark.[14] There is a LDS temple in Copenhagen, known as the Copenhagen Denmark Temple.[15]
A Jewish community has been present in Denmark since the seventeenth century, when the monarchs began allowing Jews to enter the country and practice their religion on an individual basis. Emancipation followed gradually and by the end of the nineteenth century most Jews were fully assimilated into Danish society. In the early decades of the twentieth century there was an influx of more secular, Yiddish speaking, Eastern European Jews. Nearly 99% of Danish Jews survived the Holocaust by actions of the Danish resistance.
Today there are approximately nearly 10,000 ethnic Jews in Denmark, and three synagogues located in Copenhagen.
Denmark's Muslims make up approximately 3% of the population and form the country's second largest religious community and largest minority religion.[1][17] As of 2009 there are nineteen recognised Muslim communities in Denmark.[17][18] As per an overview of various religions and denominations by the Danish Foreign Ministry, other religious groups comprise less than 1% of the population individually and approximately 2% when taken all together.[19] Ahmadi Muslims constructed the first mosque in the capital, Copenhagen. There are approximately 600 Ahmadis all over Denmark today.[20]
The Baha'i Faith arrived in Denmark in 1925, but it did not make much impact until the arrival of American pioneers in 1946. A National Spiritual Assembly was formed in 1962. In 2005, it was estimated that there were about 1,251 Baha'is in the country.[21]
Buddhism in Denmark was brought back from expeditions that explored the Indian subcontinent. Initial interest was mainly from intellectuals, authors, Buddhologists and Philologists. In 1921, Christian F. Melbye founded the first Buddhist Society in Denmark, but it was later dissolved in 1950 before his death in 1953.[22][23] In the 1950s, there was a revival in interest towards Buddhism, especially Tibetan Buddhism and Hannah and Ole Nydahl, founded the first Karma Kagyu Buddhist centers in Copenhagen.[22][23] The third wave of Buddhism came in the 1980s, when refugees from Vietnam, Sri Lanka and China came to Denmark.
In 2009 Aarhus University estimated that there were 20,000 practising Buddhists in Denmark.[24][25]
A neopagan religious group, Forn Siðr — Ásatrú and Vanatrú Association in Denmark, describes itself as a revival of the Norse paganism prevalent in Denmark before Christianization. It gained state recognition in November 2003.[26] 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. Denmark has had 4 different prime ministers, who identified as atheist.[27]
The Constitution of Denmark contains a number of sections related to religion.
Sweden, Faroe Islands, Danish language, European Union, Germany
Sweden, Nørrebro, University of Copenhagen, Malmö, Amager
Martin Luther, Anglicanism, Bible, Lutheranism, Protestantism
Quran, Arabic language, God, Muhammad, Shia Islam
Sweden, Church of Sweden, Bible, Denmark, Greenland
United Kingdom, France, European Union, Belgium, Germany
European Union, Islam, Germany, Protestantism, Religion in Greece
Denmark, Copenhagen, Christianity, Islam, Church of Denmark
Lutheranism, Greenland, Denmark, Danish language, Greenlandic language
Catholicism, Islam, Serbia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina