Nordic Countries

The Nordic countries are Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. A common feature in all five countries is the existence of majority Evangelical Lutheran churches with different [Page 930]degrees of autonomy in relation to the state. The populations demonstrate high membership rates in these churches combined with high participation in church-based rites of passage but low rates of church attendance. The religious landscapes are changing, partly due to processes of modernization and globalization and partly due to immigration of people who are adherents of non-Lutheran and non-Christian religions.