Last week, the Supreme Court of Norway in State v. Jehovah's Witnesses, (Høyesterett, April 29, 2026), invalidated decisions of government officials that denied state funding and registration as a religious community to Jehovah's Witnesses. The Court also issued a press release summarizing the decision. The press release reads in part:
The State argued that the religious community’s practice of social shunning violates children’s rights and members’ right to freely withdraw from membership, see section 6 of the Religious Communities Act and Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)....
As regards children’s rights, the Supreme Court unanimously found that the State had not provided sufficient evidence that, in practice, Jehovah’s Witnesses subject minor members to psychological violence or negative social control of such severity as to constitute a violation of children’s statutory rights....
The Supreme Court further considered whether the practice of social shunning of former members violates members’ right to freely withdraw from the religious community. The Court held that Jehovah’s Witnesses satisfy the requirement of free and unconditional withdrawal under section 2 of the Religious Communities Act. A majority of three justices found that the shunning practice does not constitute undue pressure on members in breach of Article 9 of the ECHR. Particular weight was attached to the fact that the practice is rooted in the community’s doctrine, is known to members upon joining, and entails no direct pressure, coercion, or threats....
Two justices dissented on the question of whether Jehovah’s Witnesses subject their members to undue pressure against withdrawing from membership....
The Centre for Law and Religious Freedom at Jagiellonian University issued a press release announcing the decision and linking to an amicus brief it and the Religious Freedom Clinic at Harvard Law School filed in the case. [Thanks to Josh McDaniel for the lead.]
