A group of leading bishops, led by Professor in Theology Svend Andersen of Aarhus University, has suggested that the Danish national church should have its own constitution so it can speak with 'one voice' and exert control over its own internal affairs.
Mr Andersen said the government’s gay wedding bill, 'a direct attack on the church's right to decide', has shown the need for an 'independent, theology-based, constitution as soon as possible'. As the law stands today, it's politicians that have the final say in how the church is run, which means they can introduce gay marriages or whatever ground-breaking legislation they want, according to Mr Andersen who said a constitution would guarantee the separation of church and state.
Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs Manu Sareen, the champion of the new gay rights legislation, acknowledged the need for new thinking. '"The debate and discussion about the role of the church and parliament's relationship with the church clearly illustrate that something has to happen," he said.
At the same time, Mr Sareen has come under fire from leading priest and head of the Evangelist Lutheran Network, Henrik Højlund who claims his name has been misused in the gay marriage controversy. The minister has quoted the priest in both parliamentary debates and TV new programmes as saying homosexual marriages won’t make any great difference to the national church, even though Mr Højlund is opposed to the new legislation.
Mr Højlund said he had made it very clear in meetings with Mr Sareen that he believes the church will survive as a public religious institution that will continue to service the general public’s religious and ceremonial needs, but it won’t survive as a Christian-based institution.
“Sometimes I don’t know what’s wrong with Manu Sareen,” he said. “He has a rather odd tendency to offer promises and assurances from other people, who often prove to be misquoted – such as myself”.