Faroe Islands Religion and Languages

By | March 5, 2021

Population

According to Countryaah, the population of the Faroe Islands grew relatively rapidly until the early 1990s, despite the fact that the migration to Denmark was periodically large. Since the Second World War, the number of residents has increased by about 20,000 (from 29,000 in 1945 to 49,755 in 2016). Since the mid-1990s, there has been a population decline.

In 2016, the birth and death rates were 14 and 9 respektive, respectively, which gives a natural population growth of 0.5%. The majority of the residents of the Faroe Islands live in urban areas along the coasts. About 25% of the population lives in the capital Tórshavn. The inner parts of the islands, on the other hand, are virtually uninhabited. The residents of the Faroe Islands, called Faroese, are for the most part descendants of the Norwegian settlers who started settling in the archipelago from the 8th century.

Language

Official languages are Faroese, which is the native language of the Faroese and according to the Act on Self-Government 1948 main language, as well as Danish, which is read as a second language in schools and has high hours of speech at all stages.

Religion

Christianity came to the Faroe Islands around the year 1000. The islands got bishopric about 1120; a cathedral began to be erected about 1300 in Kirkjubøur but was never completed. The bishopric was abolished during the Reformation, and the Faroe Islands became a prostitute under the Diocese of Bergen to be placed under the Diocese of Zealand in the early 17th century. In 1990, the Faroese Lutheran Church became an independent Danish diocese.

A conservative Lutheran court, characterized by Jesper Brochmand’s house postilla and Thomas Kingo’s hymns, prevailed in the mid-19th century, when revival movements such as the Plymouth brothers and the Danish Inner Mission gained influence. Danish had become church language during the Reformation, but the national endeavors brought demands on Faroese as a church language. Still in 1925 the sermon on Faroese was only allowed at every other high mass. The New Testament in Faroese was published in 1937. It was not until 1939 that Faroese was fully recognized as a church language. A hymn book in Faroese was published in 1961.

The Faroese Lutheran Church comprises about 85% of the population. The largest free church is Baptism, 10-12%. There are also Roman Catholics, Seventh-day Adventists, Pentecostal friends, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.