LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The constitution guarantees religious freedom across Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. The constitution declares the ELC as the kingdom’s established church, which shall receive state support and to which the reigning monarch must belong. The constitution also states individuals shall be free to form congregations to worship according to their beliefs, provided that nothing “contrary to good morals or public order shall be taught or done.” The constitution stipulates no person may be deprived of access to the full enjoyment of civil and political rights because of religious beliefs and that these beliefs shall not be used to evade compliance with any common civic duty. It prohibits requiring individuals to make personal financial contributions to religious denominations to which they do not adhere. In accordance with the Greenland Self-Government Act and the Faroe Islands Home Rule Act, additional Danish legislation affecting religious freedom may not necessarily apply to the entire kingdom.

The law prohibits hate speech, including religious hate speech, and specifies as penalties a fine (amount unspecified) or a maximum of two years’ imprisonment. The law also prohibits the incitement of terrorism, murder, rape, or violence in connection with religious movements or training and specifies penalties, including a fine or a maximum of three years’ imprisonment. Greenland has a similar hate speech law, although it does not specify a minimum or maximum penalty.

In response to Quran burnings in front of embassies of Muslim majority countries and other locations around the country, on December 7, parliament voted to amend the penal code to criminalize the “inappropriate treatment of a text that has a significant religious importance to a recognized religious community, or an object, that appears to be such a text.” The law passed after the government proposed in October a refined version of a legislative proposal made in August to ban the “improper treatment of scripture of significance to a recognized religious community.” The law prohibits such acts committed in public as well as the distribution of recordings of such acts committed in private. The law allows for such treatment if done as a minor part of a larger work of art. The law includes a punishment consisting of a fine or up to two years in prison. The law received criticism for limiting freedom of speech and expression.

The law criminalizes the incitement of terrorism, murder, rape, psychological violence, or religious marriages of minors by religious and spiritual leaders.

The law prohibits masks and face coverings, including burqas and niqabs, in public spaces. Violators face fines ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 Danish kroner ($148-$1,480). Fines are 1,000 kroner ($148) for the first offense, 2,000 kroner ($296) for the second, 5,000 kroner ($740) for the third, and 10,000 kroner ($1,480) for the fourth and subsequent offenses. The law does not cover Greenland or the Faroe Islands.

The law prohibits judges from wearing religious symbols such as headscarves, turbans, skullcaps, and large crucifixes while in court proceedings.

The law prohibits ritual slaughter of animals, including kosher and halal slaughter, without prior stunning and limits ritual slaughter with prior stunning to cattle, sheep, goats, and chickens. All slaughter must take place at a slaughterhouse. Slaughterhouses practicing ritual slaughter are obliged to register with the Veterinary and Food Administration. Violations of the law are punishable by a fine or up to four months in prison. Halal and kosher meat are legal to import.

The ELC is the only religious group that receives funding through state grants and voluntary, tax-deductible contributions paid through payroll deduction by its members. Voluntary payroll deduction contributions account for an estimated 77 percent of the ELC’s operating budget, and government grants contribute another 10 percent; the remaining 13 percent comes from a variety of activities, such as revenue from use of church property. Members of other recognized religious communities may not contribute to their faith groups via payroll deduction but may donate voluntarily and receive a tax deduction. The ELC and other state-recognized religious communities have the authority to carry out registration of civil unions and name changes. The ELC also registers births and deaths of its members. The Church of the Faroe Islands is separate from the ELC. The Church of Greenland is legally and financially independent from but remains a diocese within the ELC. Greenland does not have a payroll deduction system for contributions.

The Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs is responsible for granting official status to religious groups other than the ELC through recognition by royal decree for groups recognized prior to 1970 (such as the Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Russian Orthodox, and Jewish communities) or through official registration. Congregations are not required to register by law, although registration is required to receive tax benefits. Religious communities must comply with annual reporting requirements to maintain their government recognition. According to the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs, there are 192 religious groups and congregations the government officially recognizes or that are affiliated with recognized groups: 119 are Christian, 36 Muslim, 20 Buddhist, five Hindu, three Jewish, and there are nine other groups and congregations, including Baha’is and followers of the Indigenous Norse belief system Forn Sidr.

Recognized religious groups may perform legal marriage ceremonies, name and baptize children with legal effect, issue legal death certificates, obtain residence permits for foreign clergy, establish cemeteries, and receive various value added tax exemptions. Since January 2023, all recognized religious communities may issue birth, baptismal, and marriage certificates. Members of other religious communities or individuals unaffiliated with a recognized religious group may have birth and death certificates issued by the health authority.

The state permits groups not recognized by either royal decree or the registration process, such as the Church of Scientology, to engage in religious practices without public registration. The state does not grant unrecognized religious groups full tax-exempt status, but members may deduct contributions to these groups from their taxes.

The law codifies the registration process for religious communities other than the ELC and treats equally those recognized by royal decree and those approved through registration. A religious community must have at least 50 adult members who have resident status or possess Danish citizenship. For congregations located in sparsely populated regions such as Greenland, the government applies a lower population threshold, which varies according to the total population of the region.

Religious groups seeking registration must submit a document describing the group’s central traditions and most important rituals to the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs. A group applying for registration must also provide a copy of its rules, regulations, and organizational structure; an audited financial statement (which it must submit annually); information about the group’s leadership; and a statement on the number of adult members permanently residing in the country. Groups also must have formal procedures for membership and make their teachings available to all members. The ministry makes the final decision on registration applications after receiving recommendations from a group consisting of a lawyer, religious historian, sociologist of religion, and nonordained theologian. Religious groups that do not submit the annual financial statement or other required information may lose their registration status.

The law bans individuals and organizations from receiving financial donations from those in the country or overseas who “oppose or undermine democracy and fundamental freedoms and human rights.” The government maintains a list of individuals and organizations so designated, which may include foreign religious groups. The law sets a fine at a value corresponding to 30 percent of the estimated value of the donation for any donations that individually or together exceed 10,000 kroner ($1,480) from an individual or organization on that list. This law does not apply to the Faroe Islands or Greenland.

All public and private schools, including religious schools, receive government financial support. The Ministry of Children and Education oversees private schools, which includes supervising teaching standards, regulating compliance with the country’s regulations on curriculum, and financial screening. The Board of Education and Quality conducts systematic monitoring and has authority to issue directives to individual institutions, withhold grants, and terminate financial support. Public schools must teach about religion using an ELC-focused curriculum. The instructors are public school teachers rather than individuals provided by the ELC. Religion classes are compulsory in grades one through nine, although students may be exempt if a parent presents a request in writing. No alternative classes are available.

The ELC religion curriculum in grades one through six focuses on life philosophies and ethics, biblical stories, and the history of Christianity. In grades seven through nine, the curriculum adds a module on world religions. The course is optional in grade 10. If a student is 15 or older, the student and parent must jointly request the student’s exemption. If a student is under 15, a parental request for exemption is sufficient. Private schools must teach religion classes in grades one through nine, including world religions in grades seven through nine. The religion classes taught in grades one through nine need not include ELC theology. The law allows collective prayer in schools, but each school must regulate prayer in a neutral, nondiscriminatory manner, and students must be able to opt out of participating.

The law requires clergy members with legal authorization to officiate marriages to have an adequate mastery of the Danish language and to complete a two-day course on family law and civil rights administered by the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs. The law also requires that religious workers “must not behave or act in a way that makes them unworthy to exercise public authority.” The government may strip the right to perform marriages from religious workers whom it perceives as not complying with these provisions.

By law, the Ministry of Immigration and Integration may prevent entry by foreign religious figures who do not already have a residence permit if it determines their presence poses a threat to public order. In such cases, the ministry places the individuals on a national sanctions list and bars them from entry for two years, a period which it may extend. The sanctions list does not apply to EU nationals and residents. This law does not apply to Greenland or the Faroe Islands, but royal decree may enforce it in those territories.

The law seeks to reduce the number of what it terms “parallel societies” by 2030 and defines these as neighborhoods with more than 1,000 residents where at least two criteria based on employment, income, education, and crime rates are met and where the proportion of non-Western immigrants and their descendants exceeds 50 percent. The law requires neighborhoods classified as parallel societies for four years in a row to reduce the amount of public housing in their area by 40 percent through demolition, sale, or privatization. The government would be responsible for rehousing evicted individuals. The law requires parents in communities with significant non-Western populations to send children from the age of one to government-funded daycare, where they learn “Danish values,” including Christmas and Easter traditions. The penalty for noncompliance is the loss of quarterly welfare benefits of up to 4,557 kroner ($670).

The law also seeks to reduce the percentage of non-Western residents to 10 percent in neighborhoods it terms “prevention areas” before they become “parallel societies.” These areas are defined as meeting two socioeconomic criteria and where the proportion of non-Western immigrants and their descendants exceeds 30 percent.

Military service, typically for four months, is mandatory for all physically fit men above the age of 18, except for residents of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. There is an exemption for conscientious objectors, including on religious grounds, which allows for alternative civilian service. An individual wishing to perform alternative service as a conscientious objector must apply within eight weeks of receiving notice of military service. The application is adjudicated by the Conscientious Objector Administration and must demonstrate that military service of any kind is incompatible with the individual’s conscience. Alternative service may take place in various social and cultural institutions, peace movements, organizations related to the United Nations, churches and interreligious organizations, and environmental organizations.

The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

GOVERNMENT PRACTICES

Abuses Involving the Ability of Individuals to Engage in Religious Activities Alone or In Community with Others

The government’s 2022 action plan to combat antisemitism consisted of 15 initiatives that focus on engaging various aspects of civil society to combat and prevent antisemitism. The initiatives included mandatory teaching about the Holocaust and other instances of genocide in middle and high schools, the promotion of Danish-Jewish cultural history, increased law enforcement training to prevent antisemitism, the protection of Jews and Jewish buildings, and strengthened online monitoring of antisemitic incidents. During the year, the government released two reports that outline Danish and international research into historical as well as current day antisemitism. The report on Danish research determined there was very little research in the country on the subject, either on historical antisemitism or on the “new” antisemitism generated by contempt for Israel. The government also appointed Security Office Number 1 within the Ministry of Justice office to serve as the permanent national coordinator to combat antisemitism. All initiatives in the action plan are being implemented, including allocation of funds for education and research. One of the beneficiaries was a Nordic Safe Cities initiative called AMOS, the Alliance Against Online Antisemitism. Nordic Safe Cities and partners at Common Consultancy, private company Analyse & Tal and the Jewish Information Center conducted a study on online antisemitism from May 2021 to May 2023. Among its findings, the study showed every tenth comment on Facebook in the country about Jews was antisemitic. The study further revealed prejudice, hatred, and conspiracy theories against Jews were not limited to extremist circles but were a common part of the digital public conversation. Antisemitic comments occurred in discussions on various subjects, including religious beliefs, COVID-19, circumcision, the Israel/Hamas conflict, and the war in Ukraine. The report emphasized the importance of awareness of online antisemitism in ensuring a free and open society.

Denmark’s Special Representative for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) headed the Danish delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and participated in the second IHRA yearly plenary in Zagreb in November. The Special Representative for FoRB also hosts the Danish Forum for Freedom of Religion and Belief, which meets several times a year and includes human rights organizations, research institutions, civil society organizations, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief participated in the Forum’s November meeting.

The Commission for the Forgotten Women’s Struggle was established by the government in 2022 to combat “honor-related social control” of women from minority backgrounds. The Commission, made up of politicians, academics, and activists, makes policy recommendations primarily to the Ministry of Immigration and Integration, but also to other relevant ministries. In its terms of reference and on its website, the Commission stated that its goal was to ensure that all children growing up in the country “have the same rights.” Following the change of government in late 2022, officials paused the work of the Commission for the Forgotten Women’s Struggle and did not adopt its policy recommendations, including a ban on hijabs for elementary aged children. One of the members of the Commission commented in December that the government was “betraying” the fight against social control of women with a minority background by continuing the pause.

In consultation with the organization, the Jewish Community in Denmark, the government continued to provide security for sites considered to be at high risk of a terrorist attack, including Copenhagen’s synagogue, community center, and one school.

In January, an 11-year-old student was suspended from Prins Henriks Skole, a private “free school” in Frederiksberg that follows the French school system, for wearing a headscarf to school. The school banned religious symbols and clothing and suspended the girl when she refused to remove her scarf. Danish People’s Party parliamentarian Alex Ahrendtsen publicly supported the school’s decision and praised the French school system’s stance on religious symbols and clothing articles, stating in an interview that the rule should be expanded to include all public schools as well.

In February, five members of the Danish People’s Party requested comments from the DIHR on a proposed expansion of the face veil ban passed in 2018. The proposal includes expanding the ban to public schools and other educational institutions. The DIHR responded the expansion of the face veil ban would disproportionately target Muslim women and girls who wear scarves or other coverings in school.

As of year’s end, authorities had not charged any individuals with violating the penal code’s “imam clause,” which criminalizes “the explicit incitement of terrorism, murder, rape, psychological violence, or religious marriages of minors in connection with religious training.…”

The Ministry of Justice’s Security Office Number 1 is responsible for dealing with tasks related to hate crimes. In November, Denmark reaffirmed its pledge to finalize a new national action plan against racism, which will also address religiously motivated hate crimes. The National Police of Denmark revised their procedures to better segregate data on hate crimes to include victim groups and types of crime. The National Police continued to address hate crimes through dialogues with significant stakeholders, including the Muslim Council and the Jewish Community in Denmark, and through participation in relevant civil society events to encourage reporting of hate crimes.

In June, the Director of the Public Prosecution’s Office published a summary list of judgements related to hate crimes, with a specific section dedicated to crimes motivated by hatred of a specific religion or race. The summary list is designed to provide a better understanding of crimes motivated by hatred and assist prosecutors and defense attorneys in case preparations and will include regular updates. The Director of Public Prosecution and the State Prosecutors introduced a one-year temporary reporting scheme in July requiring police districts to refer all judgments involving hate crimes to the State Prosecutor’s office for considerations involving appeal.

Abuses Involving Discrimination or Unequal Treatment

The Ministry of the Interior and Housing continued to implement the government’s action plan, under the General Housing Act, to eliminate what it termed “parallel societies” by 2030 to better integrate citizens and noncitizen residents. As of April, the plan included the conversion of 1,145 public housing buildings to private housing, the sale of 648 public housing buildings and the demolition of 4,037 public housing units. The plan also included the construction of 10,414 new housing and business units in areas of concern. As of April, 84 percent of the buildings in the concerned areas were public housing with plans to reduce the number to 78 percent by the end of the year. In its year-end update in December, the ministry announced the number of neighborhoods designated as “parallel societies” increased to 12 from 10 in 2022. The list included three new areas and removed one. For the related category of “preventative areas” on which the government focused before such neighborhoods became “parallel societies,” the ministry said the number decreased to 56, compared with 67 in 2022.

Observers continued to widely interpret “non-Western” communities, as mentioned in the “parallel societies” legislation, to mean Muslim-majority communities. The DIHR continued to call the government’s plan discriminatory and recommended authorities not include residents’ ethnic backgrounds in parallel society criteria.

On June 30, the Eastern High Court referred a 2018 antidiscrimination case against the Ministry of Housing and the Interior to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on behalf of residents of the Mjolnerparken neighborhood of Copenhagen. The residents had been protesting the demolition of a residential building in the neighborhood, which was part of the government’s plan to end “parallel societies.” The Ministry of Housing and the Interior used the ethnic origin of residents, as well as the term “non-Western” as a criterion for determining whether a neighborhood constituted a “parallel society,” which the residents claimed violated EU antidiscrimination laws. In January, the Danish Housing and Planning Authority approved the sale of two housing blocks in the neighborhood. Residents filed further proceedings and asked for a suspension of the sale until the ECJ decision on the antidiscrimination case.

In June, the government added two organizations to its list of foreign entities barred from sending financial donations to recipients in the country because the government deemed them to “oppose or undermine democracy and fundamental freedoms and human rights” in accordance with the law. As of December, there were a total of three organizations and one individual on the list.

In August, the Immigration Service updated its national sanctions list of religious preachers barred from entering the country. The list named 21 individuals, including four U.S. citizens, two of whom were dual nationals. The Ministry of Immigration and Integration stated the individuals could not enter the country for “the sake of the nation’s public order” but provided no additional details.

Government officials responded to the dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents in the country following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel with concern for the security of the country’s Jews. Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard participated in regular meetings with the Jewish Community in Denmark in October and November, including a November 20 joint meeting with Copenhagen Police Chief Anne Tonnes to discuss the community’s growing security concerns. Following that meeting, the Chair of the Jewish Community in Denmark commented that Hummelgaard and Tonnes had assured the community of their continuing support, noting “the Minister of Justice is ready to do everything in his power to ensure that Jews can live normal lives in Denmark without fear or anxiety.” In December, the government deployed army troops to reinforce existing police protection of Jewish and Israeli sites in Copenhagen in response to an increase in antisemitism and terror threats in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack and the Israeli military’s response to the attack, stating the rallies and protests since October 7 as well as Quran burnings have strained police resources. Hummelgaard said “The conflict in the Middle East has led to an absolutely unacceptable increase in antisemitism and insecurity for Jews in Denmark.”

On October 8, Queen Margrethe II attended a special event at the Royal Theater with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the escape of Danish Jews during Nazi occupation of the country.

On October 14, Queen Margrethe II attended a synagogue service to show her support for the Danish Jewish Community in the aftermath of the Hamas attack in Israel. The Queen was joined by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister.

The Danish Institute for International Studies and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs hosted an international conference on October 9-10, marking 80 years since October 1943, when the Danish resistance movement evacuated most of the country’s Jews to neutral Sweden. Conference participants reflected upon the lessons learned from the Nordic experience during the Holocaust, and the importance of teaching young generations about the Holocaust. The event included participation from national delegations of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.