MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society ( no, MF vitenskapelig høyskole for teologi, religion og samfunn), formerly the Free Faculty of Theology ( no, Det teologiske menighetsfakultet) and MF Norwegian School of Theology, is an accredited Norwegian Specialized University focused on Theology, Religion, Education and Social Studies, located in Oslo, Norway.
MF was founded in 1907 as an independent theological institution at university level and is Norway's largest provider of theological education and research. MF has around 110 employees, 1300 bachelor and master students and about 60 ph.d. students.
Since 1967, MF has offered academic studies in Christianity and religion for use in school and society. As needs have arisen, MF has developed a broad portfolio of professional degrees for church and school. The religious demography of Norway has changed significantly. There is an increasing need and demand for knowledge and quality in research on, education in and communication about religion and society. MF meets this challenge through interdisciplinary research on religion and society, along with relevant bachelor, master and ph.d. degrees in theology, religion and society.
MF has two centers:
''MF KOM – Center for Excellence in Research, Development and Communication for Church and Congregation''. This center is an intermediary between scholars at MF and church workers who wish to utilize MF's competency in their own contexts.
''MF Center for the Advanced Study of Religion, MF CASR'', organizes the research on religion done at MF. It facilitates joint projects between MF and other institutions. MF CASR encompasses areas of research including religious studies, history of religion, philosophy of religion, texts and manuscript research, cultural and art history, along with sociology of religion.
''Norwegian Philological Institute'' (PHI) is affiliated with and located at MF. The cooperation involves offering courses in classical languages connected with major world religions and cultures.
MF's areas of activity are education, research and communication.
Beginning as a confessional school, today it is an ecumenical inclusive school offering education specific to a number of denominations (
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
,
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
,
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Salvation Army
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...
Holy Scriptures
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...
and the Lutheran Confessions.
The main reason for the establishing of the School was an appointment to a professoriate at the Faculty of Theology at
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
. The Chair of
Systematic Theology
Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topic ...
was vacant after the death of
Fredrik Petersen
Fredrik Raahauge Petersen (born 27 August 1983) is a Swedish handballer for IFK Ystad. He was part of the Swedish team that won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. With HSV Hamburg
Handball Sport Verein Hamburg is a handball club ...
in 1903, and in 1906 the liberal theologian Johannes Ording was appointed to the Chair. Ording was appointed after a lengthy debate which almost led to a crisis in the Government of Norway. It was not supported by the other leading professors at the faculty, and Sigurd Odland at the Faculty of Theology and the Minister of Church Affairs
Christopher Knudsen
Christopher Knudsen (4 October 1843 – 28 July 1915) was a Norwegian priest and politician for the Conservative Party. He was Minister of Education and Church Affairs from 1905 to 1906.
Knudsen was born in Drammen as a son of railroad worker ...
in the Government left their positions following the appointment.
Notable people in the society and the Church gathering around Odland then took steps to found an independent institution training the clergy. The founding charter was signed October 16, 1907, and the School was opened in the autumn of 1908 with only 8 students (a number that increased to 14 before the end of the first term). The earliest teachers were Sigurd Odland (
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
),
Edvard Sverdrup Johan Edvard Sverdrup (22 June 1861 – 21 January 1923) was a Norwegian educator, author and church leader. Sverdrup was one of the key theologians in the Church of Norway in the first few decades of the 1900s.
Biography
Sverdrup was born in Bal ...
Peter Hognestad
Peter Hognestad (12 November 1866 – 1 September 1931) was a Norwegian Lutheran bishop, theologian, writer, and translator. Hognestad was from Jæren in Norway and he served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Bjørgvin from 1916 until his de ...
(
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
),
Ole Hallesby
Ole Kristian Hallesby (5 August 1879 – 22 November 1961) was a conservative, Norwegian Lutheran theologian, author and educator.
Biography
Ole Kristian Hallesby was born in Aremark, in Østfold, Norway. Hallesby grew up as the sixth of eight ...
(
Systematic theology
Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topic ...
). From 1919 the members of academic staff was granted the right to call themselves professors.
The school grew steadily, and in 1913 MF was given the right to offer degrees in
Theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
, and also in
Practical Theology
Practical theology is an academic discipline that examines and reflects on religious practices in order to understand the theology enacted in those practices and in order to consider how theological theory and theological practices can be more full ...
from 1925. The school expanded in 1967 and an institute of
Christian theology
Christian theology is the theology of Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exeg ...
was founded giving a minor, major and a master's degree in Christian Studies. 1977 the school started to train Christian Educators (catechists).
A major step was the right to award the doctoral degree in 1990. The school was the first private school given the right to do this, and in 2005 the school was accredited as a specialized university institution by the Norwegian authorities. In 2018 the school changed its name from "MF Norwegian School of Theology" to "MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society".
Academics
MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society awards the following degrees: bachelor, master, candidatus/a theologiae and Ph.D.
It offers the following programmes of study that results in the mentioned degrees:
* At undergraduate level
** Introductory Studies in Christianity and Religious and Ethical Education (1 year),
** Introductory Studies in Social Studies (1 year),
** Introductory Studies in Cross-cultural Communication (1 year),
** Bachelor of Arts (BA), specializing in Christianity and Religious and Ethical Education (3 years),
** Bachelor of Arts, specializing in Religion and Society (3 years),
** Bachelor of Arts, specializing in Youth Ministry (3 years),
** Bachelor of Arts, specializing in Social Sciences (3 years),
** Bachelor of Theology (3 years).
* At postgraduate level
** Master of Arts (MA) in Religious Education (1 ½ years, part-time studies),
** Master of Arts in Religion, Society and Global Issues (2 years, offered in English),
** Master of Arts in History of Religions (2 years, offered in English),
** Master of Theology (Th.M.) (2 years, offered in English) specializing in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, New Testament Studies, Church History, or Theology, Mission and Society,
** Master of Theology (5 years, one-tier, together with BA degree),
** Master of Philosophy (Ph.M) in Religious Education (2 years),
** Master of Philosophy in Educational Ministry (2 years),
** Master of Philosophy in Diaconal Ministry (2 years),
** Master of Practical Theology,
** Master of Christian Clinical Counseling,
** Professional Degree in Theology and Ministry (6 years, leading to the
cand.theol.
Candidatus theologiæ (male), Candidata theologiæ (female), abbreviated cand. theol. is an academic degree with a long tradition, awarded after a six-year higher education in theology in Iceland, Denmark, and Norway. In Norway, the title has r ...
-degree),
** Professional Teaching Degree in Religious Education and Social Studies lektor/adjunkt.
* At PhD level
** Philosophiae doctor (Ph.D.) in Theology (3 ½ years), specializing in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, New Testament Studies, Church History, or Theology, Mission and Society.
** Philosophiae doctor (Ph.D.) in Religious Education (3 ½ years).
Kjell Magne Bondevik
Kjell Magne Bondevik (; born 3 September 1947) is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician. As leader of the Christian Democratic Party, he served as the 33rd prime minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005, making him, af ...
Torild Skogsholm
Torhild Skogsholm (born 18 October 1959, in Bodø) is a Norwegian politician ( Liberal Party).Torild Skogsholm in
Helen Bjørnøy
Helen Oddveig Bjørnøy (born 18 February 1954 in Ålesund, Norway) is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician ( Socialist Left Party), currently County Governor of Buskerud. From October 2005 to October 2007, she was Minister of the Envir ...
.
Musicians
Bjørn Eidsvåg
Bjørn Eidsvåg (born 17 March 1954) is a Norwegian pop singer, songwriter, and ordained Lutheran minister. He was born in Sauda, and is a graduate of the MF Norwegian School of Theology. He has released more than 25 albums since his 1976 deb ...
Ole Hallesby
Ole Kristian Hallesby (5 August 1879 – 22 November 1961) was a conservative, Norwegian Lutheran theologian, author and educator.
Biography
Ole Kristian Hallesby was born in Aremark, in Østfold, Norway. Hallesby grew up as the sixth of eight ...
Andreas Aarflot
Andreas Aarflot (born 1 July 1928) is a Norwegian theologian and bishop emeritus in the Church of Norway. He was bishop of Oslo from 1977 to 1998.
Early life
Aarflot was born in Yiyang, China where his mother and father served the Norwegian Mi ...
Per Oskar Kjølaas
Per Oskar Alfred Kjølaas (born 25 May 1948 in Kirkenes, Norway) was the bishop of the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland in the Church of Norway from 2002 until 2014.
Kjølaas studied at the MF Norwegian School of Theology in Oslo, having graduated wi ...
Herborg Finnset
Herborg Oline Finnset (born 28 March 1961 in Sørreisa, Troms) is a Norwegian prelate of the Church of Norway who is the Bishop of Nidaros as of 2018.
Biography
Finnset was pastor of Strinda parish in the Diocese of Nidaros, and later became D ...
, Bishop of Nidaros
*
Finn Wagle
Finn Wagle (born 19 June 1941) is a theologian and a former bishop of Nidaros in the Church of Norway. He was also the Preses (''Primus inter pares'', “first among equals”) and thus presided over the Bishop's Conference in the Church of Nor ...
Odd Bondevik
Odd Bondevik (20 June 1941 – 6 September 2014) was a Norwegian theologian who was the Bishop of the Diocese of Møre in the Church of Norway from 17 November 1991 until retirement in 2008. He also served as Preses of the Bishop's Conference o ...
, Bishop Emeritus of Møre
* Atle Sommerfelt, Bishop of Borg
* Per Lønning, Bishop Emeritus of Borg and Bjørgvin
*
Solveig Fiske
Solveig Margrete Fiske (born 26 October 1952) is a theologian and bishop emerita in the Church of Norway, serving as the bishop of Hamar between 2006 and 2022, when she retired.
Originally from Frei in Møre og Romsdal, she graduated from the F ...
Olav Fykse Tveit
Olav Fykse Tveit (born 24 November 1960) is a Norwegian Lutheran theologian and bishop, and the current Preses of the Bishops' Conference of the Church of Norway. He was elected to the post of general secretary of the World Council of Churches ...
, General Secretary, World Council of Churches
* Trond Bakkevig, Canon, Provost of Vestre Aker
Faculty staff
Old Testament theology
* Karl William Weyde
* Gard Granerød
* Andrew Wergeland, Hebrew
* Corinna Körting
*
Magne Sæbø
Magne Sæbø (born 23 January 1929) is a Norwegian biblical scholar specializing in the Old Testament.
He has spent most of his professional life as student and professor of the Lutheran MF Norwegian School of Theology in Oslo. 1995–1998 he was ...
New Testament theology
* Karl Olav Sandnes
* Reidar Hvalvik
* Ole Jacob Filtvedt
* Hanne B. S. Tveito
* Glenn Wehus, Greek
* Morten Hørning Jensen,
* Ernst Oddvar Baasland
Church history
* Kristin Bliksrud Aavitsland, Medieval Church History and Culture
* Otfried Czaika, Reformation and Early Modern History
* Vidar Leif Haanes (rector)
* Victor Ghica, Antiquity and Early Christian Studies
* Kristin Norseth, Norwegian Church and Mission History
* John Wayne Kaufman], Patristics and Early Christian Studies
* Oskar Skarsaune
* Bernt T. Oftestad
*
Andreas Aarflot
Andreas Aarflot (born 1 July 1928) is a Norwegian theologian and bishop emeritus in the Church of Norway. He was bishop of Oslo from 1977 to 1998.
Early life
Aarflot was born in Yiyang, China where his mother and father served the Norwegian Mi ...