The Danish Church Minister has abrogated the right of Church of Denmark congregations to reject a female minister for employment solely on the ground of her sex. In her final act as Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs, Louise Schack-Elholm, removed the qualified exemption given to churches that permits them to refuse to employ female priests, the Kristeligt Dagblad reported on 23 November 2023.
The Equal Treatment Act of 12 April 1978 prohibits discrimination employment discrimination on the grounds of sex. However, an executive order issued by the government on 10 July 1978 gave religious organizations an exemption from the act to permit freedom of religious conscience. In 2014 the Gender Equality Board held the women priest was the victim of unlawful discrimination after a woman Church of Denmark priest was refused consideration for a post as it was advertised for male clergy only. The Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs overturned the board’s decision based upon the religious exemption order.
However in October 2022 a majority of the Church of Denmark’s bishops meeting in Aarhus released a statement asking the state to abolish the exemption. By abolishing the exemption, “the National Church will send a clear signal that we do not hire priests by gender, but by qualifications, theological opinions and spiritual traditions,” stated the Rt. Rev Peter Skov-Jakobsen, bishop of the Copenhagen Foundation.
“The provision itself has had a symbolic significance rather than a practical one”, Mrs. Schack-Elholm said in an interview with Kristeligt Dagblad. People “have been upset about not having full equality between the sexes, just as there is in the rest of the labor market.”
The decision represents an about face by the minister who until recently had spoken out against removing the exemption. She now believes, however, the Church of Denmark should be an “inclusive Church”. She added that parishes are still free to choose a priest of their liking, however, sex may no longer play a role in the decision process. can still choose a priest to their liking; only gender may not play a role in their decision process.
Hans-Ole Bækgaard, chairman of Indre Mission, objected to the about face, telling the Kristeligt Dagblad “equality ideology trumps theological inclusiveness.”
“For me, this debate has not been about female priests, gender discrimination or an indifferent symbol, but about freedom and minority protection in the national church”, he said, noting the next step would be withdrawing the priest’s right to refuse to marry a gay couple. “Is there still room for theological disagreement,” in the Church of Denmark he asked.
