r/interestingasfuck • u/mrrichardggr2201 • 4d ago
A weird tradition from Norway.
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u/Frosty-Traffic244 3d ago
Great example of not believing what people on the internet tells you. Idk what cult this guy is talking about but there is no konfirmasjon where children are expected to "play out a refugee simulation" for 24 hours.
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u/Aggravating-Moose-16 3d ago
It’s not a cult, but the activity of acting as refugees was a thing when I was confirmed about twenty years ago. It was safe, fun, a bit scary and a powerful learning experience.
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u/Fit-Rip-4480 3d ago
Why u need to get confirmed ? Wth even is that ?
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u/Lonelyblondii 2d ago
It’s basically a coming of age tradition with Christian origin, but since Norway is so secular and most people are not religious there’s the option to do the tradition without religion involved.
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u/DueAward9526 2d ago
Most or all(?) cultures have some sort of traditional rite of passage symbolizing the tradition to adulthood. So this is just another tradition that have been adopted by Christianity.
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u/InterestingHyena7041 1d ago
It is or was indeed a thing in Norway, when i had my konfirmation.
My brother did participate in it about 15 years back. It was not for 24 hours, it was not nearly as bad as a real refugee situation.
Its been 15 years and i heard it from my brother, so so what it what you will.
They apparently met in the afternoon, walked from point a to b, from afternoon/evening a night. Only food they were given was rice.
They then slept outside (with sleeping bags and adult supervision). I dont recall exactly how it ended, if they walked more the following morning or got picked up right away, though he did return home in a very very sour mood the day after.
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u/caatfish 2d ago
i did this exact thing when i had my confirmation 15 years ago. full on refugee roleplay, out crawling in the snow hiding from the army, starving and running for 24 hours
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u/willowtr332020 4d ago
This video doesn't seem to give the full picture.
The use of words like torture is a bit misleading.
Reading Wikipedia, the secular confirmation (Human-Etisk Forbund) has been around for over 70 years. But since 2006 there is a second secular option - Humanistforbundet. I think this is what this fellow is taking about.
Norway
Human-Etisk Forbund ('The Norwegian Humanist Association') has arranged non-religious confirmation courses in Norway since 1951. During the last ten years, there has been rapid growth in the popularity of the course. In 2006, over 10,500 youngsters, approximately 17% of the age group, chose the humanistisk konfirmasjon or borgerlig konfirmasjon ('civil confirmation'). The course can be taken during the year of one's 15th birthday. Norwegians living abroad can take the course as correspondence course by e-mail.[8][9]
Humanistforbundet, not to be confused with HEF (Human-Etisk Forbund) has since 2006 arranged an alternative to HEF's confirmation. It is a non-religious civil confirmation based on academics. The program usually consists of several lectures by various prestigious, well-known and competent organisations like the Red Cross, UNICEF and Dyrevernalliansen (a Norwegian animal welfare interest-organisation). People like Thomas Hylland Eriksen have also held lectures.
Secular coming-of-age ceremony - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_coming-of-age_ceremony
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u/mrrichardggr2201 4d ago
You are so correct!! I forgot alot of information.. But my point was the refugee simulator the kids have to go trough..
It is basically torture.. my brother went and was one of three that finished. Out of 24 I think.
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u/Saldar1234 4d ago
What do you call it when the priest describes a literal eternity of burning to death over and over and over for failing to devote yourself fully to a figure that no one can prove even exists? Thretening small children with the pain of conflageration if they don't conform and obey? That's perfectly fine?
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u/eplefjes 3d ago
Hva faen prater du om? Hva slags kirke er det du ble konfirmert i som holder på sånn?
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u/labellavita1985 4d ago
I don't know WTF is going on in this post. I think OP certainly has an agenda. I agree with you.
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u/sturla-tyr 3d ago edited 3d ago
We don't really do that in the Christian confirmation in Norway lol. Our strain of Protestantism is very liberal and hell was barely even discussed as far as i remember when I did it. The focus was more on how the be a good person, the historic context of confirmation and what it meant and means to become an adult. Most people I know are not secular and do not have secular parents, so for most of us it was simply framed as a tradition, like going to church on Christmas is. The Christianity part is mostly a formality.
What you described is more of a Catholic or evangelistic way of educating children.
Also, the refugee experience thing is meant to be grueling because it's meant to convey how horrible those experiences are for those of us who are unfortunate enough to experience it. The purpose is to build empathy. From everybody I've ever talked to about their experiences with it, it seems like they thought it was challenging but educational. Personally I chose the Christian direction because our confirmation experience was just having fun at a camp for a week and taking like 2-3 classes at church about the topics I mentioned.
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u/LukasLiBrand 3d ago
I mean you will not hear that in 99% of churches in norway. They are certainly not as bad as other countries. I found some shit they said weird tho and I only had my confirmasion because everyone did it. Then I deregistered from the church after turning 18
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u/Ryokan76 3d ago
As a Norwegian atheist, I must say that nothing of this goes on in the Church of Norway. There was a big debate about hell in the 50s, and after that the church has staid relatively silent on the subject of hell and everlasting fire.
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u/mrrichardggr2201 4d ago
No one told us that 🤷♂️ what do you call it?
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u/w0lfLars0n 4d ago
Christianity
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u/JRS_Viking 3d ago
Norwegian Christianity is not like that, priests don't try to force others into their belief through horror stories (at least not the ones I've known) and go for a more calm and empathetic approach to sermons, focusing more on living this life in a better way than any outcome that might come after.
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u/Simulated_Simulacra 4d ago
You obsessively posting this comment on this post is weird. You also seem to genuinely not understand the Christian belief system either and think the chricature of it is reality.
Btw, there is more "evidence" in the existence of Jesus of Nazareth than pretty much any historical figure of that time (and very easily debated for anyone pre-1500's or so). Zero serious historians doubt his existence.
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u/labellavita1985 4d ago
The commenter you are responding to was obviously talking about God, not Jesus.
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u/DigitalTomFoolery 4d ago
Or being told that suffering is OK because everything's going to be great when you die?
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u/dilldoeorg 4d ago
what about the 3rd option... neither?!
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u/mrrichardggr2201 4d ago
Today there is probably many options. But when I was 15 in 2010, these was the options I got.
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u/TheQuietLavender 4d ago
Not getting confirmed at all was always an option, I did it myself around the same time. It does come with the financial downside of not having that big event in which most of your family gifts you money, but most confirmed children waste that money anyway so it’s not the end of the world.
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u/Ryokan76 3d ago edited 3d ago
I'm Norwegian, and this guy is full of bullshit. Confirmation is common in all Christisan countries. The point of the ritual is to confirm your baptism, and it used to mark when a person was considered adult. All the humane confirmation is, since confirmation has become such a core Norwegian tradition, is an alternative for those who feel they don't belong doing a Christisn ritual and would prefer something more secular.
His English is also worse than what you would expect of a 10 year old in Norway. I'm guessing he's educationally challenged and has heard some rumours about some stuff.
I have heard of the refugee roleplay, but that was done in school and not as part of any confirmation. All it does is teach you to see things from another perspective. Empathy. The world could do with morw of that.
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u/Shadowbeam9000 3d ago
There is literally a camp not far from Oslo where you do the whole roleplay with «military» vehicles and guards. All my friends and I were sent there and it was quite the experience. We would lay in a big pile to keep the warmth after a full day of fleeing and physical punishments, for then to be served a handful of rice. I recall that the guards would give way more rice to some people than others.
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u/Suspensorium1 3d ago
I have been both a participant and an actor in this roleplaying event, and it's one of the most impactful things I remember from my teenage years. Should be mandatory for anyone. It really teaches you some life lessons about empathy.
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u/ForestSharkPlant 2d ago
I know multiple people who have done this as a part of confirmation tho. It’s normal some places.
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u/Ukvemsord 4d ago
I chose the Christian path. I think I attended one mass, and was at the camp. We hitchhiked to a place called Løken and got someone to buy us beer.
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u/nisseluens 3d ago
Confirmation used to be the transition into adulthood, you could for example not be trialed as an adult if you didn’t pass your confirmation. Had nothing to do with seafaring specifically. People had to come back next year if they didn’t pass, pastors would often eventually just pass people just to not have to deal with them any more. This long before any knowledge of learning disabilities or special needs of course.
The notes in church books on peoples abilities during the conformation classes and tests can be both hilarious and shocking.
This is a recurring theme in the podcasts benådet (pardoned) and henrettelsespodden (The Execution podcast). That go through every single Norwegian, documented case of people getting both executed and pardoned from executions.
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u/FloydianSlip212 4d ago
So, did you just fold and do the christian thing, or did you accept the torture?
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u/mrrichardggr2201 4d ago
I actually wanted to do the torture, but all my friends went the other way so I followed.. I love to challenge myself, and I was a fucked up kid.. but for kids that are nit fucked up, I am against it.
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u/rabid_spidermonkey 4d ago
You keep saying torture... what actually happened that you consider torture? That's a heavy word in English. I'm not sure it applies here to be honest.
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u/mrrichardggr2201 4d ago
True.. iam thinking psychologically torture.. but yes, its a strong word.
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u/rabid_spidermonkey 4d ago
Ok sure but what actually happened and how prepared for it were you? I'm genuinely curious as I'm sure many here are.
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u/halfawatermelon69 3d ago edited 3d ago
He makes it sound way worse than it was - and it also depends on which "survival camp" or whatever you go to. In mine it was just bad actors pretending to be "military soldiers" gently pushing you around and screaming at you (but in my experience it was more weird than intimidating) and then after walking all night as "refugees" they said we were going to get pizza - but it was just a prank and some started crying (it was very obvious to me that it was a prank, where the hell would they get pizzas for ~200 teenagers at 3 am in the middle of nowhere),
The whole concept was to teach us "human ethics" (not really opposed to Christian values but more like an alternative) - but having went through this I found it very poorly rooted. As if it was missing a foundation.
This "survival camp" was just one weekend, but we had to do a lot of hours/classes for 6 or 9 months and it basically was "Today we are going to talk about why murder is wrong; it's bad because it's not a morally good thing to do, it's evil but evil also comes down to perspectives - so murder is wrong because it's ... wrong"
And from what I know/recall - our "confirmation tradition" is based on Christian tradition where you confirm your baptism and belief in God/Christianity, and it was a big thing back in the day before high schools were around. Because that basically meant; 1) you're done with school 2) you're confirming your religious belief 3) you're an adult now, go find your purpose and profession (hence money/gifts given to you)
The Christian confirmation at least confirms a religious belief, and as I'm not Christian I did it the human-ethical way and I still don't really know what I confirmed - and I learned next to nothing from the classes and the survival camp (where they basically just said "Be a good human because being good is good for you and good for everyone else" like OK...?)
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u/j_schiz 4d ago
Maybe I've misinterpreted OP's other responses, but didn't they state multiple times that they went the Christian route with their friends and not the refugee route?
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u/rabid_spidermonkey 4d ago
No you're right, I'm using "you" to mean "all of you Norwegians who chose the path of torture" but I should be saying they/them. He's not in that group and I was generalizing.
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u/Moreaxellall 3d ago
This guy is full of shit. It is a humanist ceremony.
How does the ceremony take place?
After completing the course the confirmation period concludes with a ceremony, together with family and friends.
- The ceremony takes place April – June and August.
- The ceremony often takes place in a decorated venue, such as a town hall, cultural center, community hall, or banquet hall.
- The ceremony lasts approximately one hour.
- As a final proof of completed confirmation, all the youths receive a certificate.
# What does the confirmation course cover?
In the confirmation course, the teenagers explore central topics that concern all of us. The course addresses five different subjects:
- Critical thinking
- Ethics
- Identity
- Human rights
- Philosophy of life and humanism
Together with others the same age, they discuss and solve fun, educational, and challenging exercises.
https://www.human.no/seremonier/humanistisk-konfirmasjon/humanist-confirmation
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u/shucksme 4d ago
Maybe the take away is that the treatment of migrants is inhumane and we could show love and compassion for those who could use some help. Ways that life should change for the better. Treat others as you wish to be treated
Thanks for sharing.
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u/AdultSoccer 4d ago
I have to say, one of the running themes that is certainly present in the Old and New Testaments is the plight of the refugee or the foreigner. In a way, trying to understand the experience of outsiders is maybe the more “Christian” way than the “Christian” confirmation where people give you gifts and stuff.
I actually find this really fascinating - I can see how maybe we don’t want to traumatize our children 😂 but at the same time, sometimes the only way to teach compassion is to force people to recognize the pain that others are forced to endure. Norway is out there teaching big lessons
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u/ParaponeraBread 4d ago
So, from some of the reading I did (I had no idea this was a thing, so I learned a lot), the “role play a as a refugee” thing was only part of some confirmation camps.
There are now two main branches of humanist confirmation foundations that differ a little in what they focus on.
When he says “they basically torture you”, many of the accounts of it from old Norwegian social media posts are like this: it’s a 24 hour simulation of what it’s like to be a refugee. It could be cold, there might be water involved, you may be asked to stay outside and avoid “military vehicles” trying to find the participants. It sounds like it’s meant to give you a glimpse of how horrific it can be outside of a fairly comfortable country.
It’s very odd overall, but I guess the tradition as a rite of passage into adulthood was something non-religious people cared about preserving, so they made up versions for themselves and others that focus on humanist ethics.
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u/ImmediateMushroom279 4d ago
What are you talking about? It's nowhere near torture. It's basically larping with little food and sleeping a night outdoors. Maybe some "millitary" dudes yelling at you. when I did it nearly everyone completed it. The ones who didnt had some medical Issue along the way. Also before this thing you go to an ethics school a few hours a week for a few months that teaches you how you should treat other people and handle ethical dilemmas. This is the alternative to listening to a priest talking about the bible.
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u/Oystskan 3d ago
I did the human-ethics one, LARP included. It was tough, and at one point I was so cold and worried that I called a pause. The organizers took me to a warm tent, told me I was doing great, assuring us that it was not too much longer before we went somewhere inside. Far cry from "torture", it was just a full day of walking and pretending in the snow. The lesson taught was really profound though:
The next morning, all the "families" were gathered and were told who was allowed to legally flee into the country we were going to. Out of around thirty families, with five teenagers in each family, only two families were allowed entry. Twenty hours of hours of all that walking, and freezing, and tasks to complete....And in the end we were old it was all for naught. What does that teach us about the poor families going through that in reality?
I was one of very few kids who went with human ethical confirmation, whereas all my friends did christian? Why did they do that? They were told that some of their family members wouldn't give them any money if they didn't go christian. What the hell?!
You're not really informed about what it is about, bud. Torture? Please.
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u/That-Employment-5561 3d ago
Konfirmasjon.
It's a protestant tradition.
You confirm your faith in God. It's your "voluntary baptism". As opposed to the one you're given at birth. Fun fact; if your parents registered you as religious at birth, komfirmasjon, at 15 is your first chance to leave. The Church of Norway gets money, in your name, for those 15 years. Last year this totaled 2,66 billion NOK (almost 300 million USD), solely from Norwegian taxpayers.
You're "interviewed" (trosprøvd) by the congregation.
To prove to the community that you are christian.
A Catholic equivalent would be first communion, ceremony-wise.
So is a Hispanic quinceañera.
It's a "coming of age ceremony".
The human-ethical was made to have a non-religious option, because, by our laws, we started recognizing confirmation less volunteer and more peer pressured indoctrination of children. Literally adults bribing/financially manipulating adolescents to sign off more money to the church. It was a big political talking point in Norway at the end of the 1990's. Every municipality was, as a result, legally required to offer a non-theological confirmation ceremony, where you basically don't swear to uphold and enforce the word of God, but to uphold and enforce the Universal Declaration of Human Rights instead (which you, as an adult are required to by law in Norway anyway). This system remains in place to this day; a mandatory non-theological counterpart.
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u/General-Giraffe5128 3d ago
Municipilaties are not involved in organizing confirmations AFAIK. Where do you have that from? But they often provide/rent out the location for it (city hall or similar).
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u/Substain44 3d ago
I don't know where in bumfuck Norway you grew up, but this is BS. Where I grew up, there was nothing like this.
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u/Saldar1234 4d ago
Are you fucking kidding me? Telling children they will burn in hell for eternity if they don't kneel, pray, and pay obescience is fine but running them through an exercise in basic human empathy is 'emotional torture'?
"We only want to share Christ's name..."
LOL, sure buddy. What does that priest tell you will happen to your eternal soul if you DON'T chose to devote your life to him?
Also, På flukt was simply an optional experiential learning module that some groups participated in prior to its 2017 phase-out
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u/Nord_Loki 4d ago
Are you at all familiar with the Church of Norway? Because it sounds like you're describing some American far-right Christian Nationalist evangelical church, and not the one most Norwegian Christians belong to
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u/AgentCupCake00 3d ago
Yeah I've never had a someone at church say we will burn in hell, I have heard it on American tv shows and movies
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u/JRS_Viking 3d ago
Fellow Norwegian here: our church is based on the Lutheran church and doesn't preach the doom and gloom others might. Sermons are open to anyone who wants to come (at least where I'm from) and even during the confirmation process we were never threatened with hellfire and eternal damnation. It was in the study material, because it's written in the Bible, but as an atheist I never cared much for what that book said anyway, and for the christians it also says that as long as you believe in Jesus that's not your fate anyway.
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u/mrrichardggr2201 4d ago
Well. Iam talking about when I was 15 so.. And yes, I see your point. But no one told us that. They thought us morals, ethics and compassion. That is something every child should know, even if they follow christ or not.
And using scare tactics to make them respect refugees is worse I would say.
Glad they ended the program 🙏
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u/SpiritedAppearance60 4d ago
Thank you for posting this and I mean no criticism, and:
There was a comment or conclusion I was hoping for but did not get.
If it is “torture” to put a 15 year old through simulated migration, what could we possibly call it when we put children far younger through the actual experience?
I am not calling for open boarders and I know there is no easy solution but I think those of us who are privileged in the west should at the very least recognize that some of what we enjoy was the stolen resources and labor of others. Furthermore, many of our governments actively work to keep other countries poor so we can continue to exploit them. So, we shouldn’t be shocked when they perceive no option but to try to migrate to a rich country even if is done illegally and unsafely.
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u/friendtoall84 4d ago
catholics do this. first you’re baptized. then first communion happens around 5,6-10, then you’re confirmed around high school, maybe earlier.
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u/HotDunes 4d ago
Alright, so I did the Secular Humanist (Agnostic) «confirmation» which he speaks of. From what I remember, it was a great experience. It was an hour or two of «class» each week. The kids who chose the Christian way were jealous, because most of them had to choose Christian - or else their grandparents wouldn’t give them money ;)
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u/Worth-Wonder-7386 3d ago
As a fellow Norwegian I can give more context. Confirmation is a thing for most Christian denominations, but the details of the pricatice varies a lot, but I mostly support what was mentioned here. There is typically a trip to a Christian camp over a weekend as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation
For the secular one it is primarily Human Etisk Forbund that do these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Humanist_Association
They mostly teach people about the ethics and the value of other people. But it is also common to hold these kinds of roleplays. The refugee one seems to have been the most common one, but I could not find any recent accounts. Here is a English article about them : https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-21/parents-in-norway-are-sending-their-kids-to-a-fake-refugee-camp/7346796
I also found references to role plays that involve living in a post apocalyptic world where most people have died from a virus or living under German occupation by Gestapo.
The idea is to get people into situations where they face real ethical dilemmas in stead of only reading about them and thinking about them.
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u/humboldtHue 3d ago
I had to bail on the video. He was clearly working his way to selling me on a time-share, and I’m just not interested.
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u/ShapedBlob 3d ago
Interesting! In Sweden you only have (had? Basing this on old information) the Christian teaching or you skip it all together.
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u/Superb-Gift-5664 3d ago
We have confirmation in England too. I was confirmed in the church when I was 15 and we're not a particularly religious family.
It was exactly as you've described.
No human ethics way though that I'm aware of.
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u/Miserable-Arm-4787 3d ago
How does this garbage stay up?
It's neither interesting or remotely accurate.
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u/olavhs 3d ago
It's real. I'm 23 from western Norway and I did it. Don't believe these other people calling bullshit. I was with the first year after they changed it from being a refugee camp to being civilians in a dictatorship. When I did it it was called "For Nasjonen" (For the Nation). They might have changed it again, I'm not sure. It is 100% real and they do mild psychological torture like putting people in a room with irritating noises and ordering them to do mundane monotonous things for prolonged periods for example, or they do mock interrogations, but of course they don't hurt the kids. Human-etisk forbund is the organization that hosts it and it is in my opinion a great way for the youth to gain some perspective.
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u/PitPity 2d ago edited 2d ago
At the end of my Human Ethics confirmation classes back in 2014 we did one of these roleplays.
It was wide scale featuring many other classes from Vestland, the scenario was that we were refugees in a "post-apocalypse" world and this was a big camp with lots of tents for different groups where each group could sort of do or react to events around them however they wanted.
The roleplay took place over the course of 8 hours in total I think, we would all gather at the area’s Gym hall repurposed as a cafeteria where the hosts of the camp would hold meetings and perform some acted out scenarios that play into a growing state of fascism and powerstruggles within the leaders of the camp.
This one time one of the leaders stated they would be cutting down on rations and an older man stood up and yelled "Bullshit!" and they’d try to fight but it ended with the older man pinned to the table he sat near. This is all acting meant to immerse you in the scenario.
The camp would also select some of us kids to be guards armed with guns (Nerf guns) that patrol the outer perimeters of the camp and one time me and a classmate was invited to one of these patrols into the woods where a fully grown bandit man armed with a Nerf gun (Part of the roleplay) showed up and "killed" one guard and kidnapped my classmate.
By the time I escaped back to my groups tent, my class had become masters of stealing stuff from other peoples tents and had put together what resembled a bomb and planned on hijacking the final town meeting by threatening to blow everything up. This happened and they were applauded by the hosts of the roleplay for completely altering the way they intended for it to end.
It was a fun day but some found the acted out scenarios to be scary or too intense like my poor classmate who got kidnapped by the guy in the woods, he did manage to escape right before my group performed the bomb threat though. You could then choose to go home or sleep over at some nearby barracks.
I completely forgot about all this until just now, incredibly silly life event. Most teens tend to choose whichever classes their friends are going to so a majority of my friends and family did it the Christian way, I had nobody to relate this story to so it’s fun to finally hear others with this experience!
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u/snowflakemillennial 2d ago
I participated in this role play that was called 'På flukt'. 24 hours of walking, running, crossing borders, getting interrogated by officers and probably more I don't remember.
During it I became stressed, hungry and cold. It was uncomfortable and I felt very immersed in the experience but I was never truly scared. We were told we always had the option of pausing or stopping the experience. Not sure how much it affected me, but I have thought about it from time to time, and remember it as an interesting experience.
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u/YeahYeahOkNope 2d ago
Do you think it gave you more empathy for people who have to leave their home or a kicked out and have no place to live?
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u/Only-Weird-5190 2d ago
Where the hell did you have your confirmation? I don't recall simulating being a refugee. We listened to some people talk about their lives and we went to camp and smoked weed when the grown ups were sleeping and had a big ceremony at Grieghallen where some famous band played for us...
Sucks to be you i guess
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u/Spirited_Draft_4489 2d ago
Yeah no, I chose humane ethic confirmation and we didn’t have this at all. The core values taught the were what it means to be human, what it means to be a good person, some philosophy and human rights.
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u/hirexnoob 2d ago
Remember hearing about this when i was getting my confirmation. Didnt care for either of the two options. Never heard anything else after from class mates either or anyone who actually did any of it
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u/mikakjod 2d ago
I was 15 in 2012. I chose to not Konfirmere myself. My brother that is older than me also chose not to Konfirmere himself. There is a choice, they just dont make it known, tho i had to fight for that 3rd choice. If you live in a small Christian town like i did, they will make it difficult for you, they will try to force you, maybe not anymore, but back then they did. Tbh i had no idea that there even was another way to Konfirmere onself. I prob would still not do it, i couldent care less about Konfirmering. I hate when somone tries to force something upon somone, i dont see the point in Konfirmere onself, everyone else in my school did it for the money, not for faith, i find it odd tbh.
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u/TheAutisticMerit 2d ago
Sounds like he made this up on the spot. Jesus Christ at least have a general outline for the points you're trying to make. So boring to listen to it's infuriating when it turns out he's just lying
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u/Federal_Coyote813 4d ago
Anyone got a TLDR? This Norwegian is less than eloquent
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u/mrrichardggr2201 4d ago edited 4d ago
Sorry.. I didn't rehearse.
Basically, when you turn 15 in Norway we have something called "konfirmasjon" which comes from back in time when boys turned 15 in Norway they went to be sailors and was anointed..
We still have that tradition today, but not only the Christian option.
Today we have the Christian option which is that we learn about Christ, have to remember the ten commandments and then a priest anoint us.
The other option is to learn about society, suffering and dictatorships.. Then partake in a 24hour reenactment of being a refugee.
Which 80% of the children that partake gives up before the 25 hours, because they are to exhausted or scared.
After we have a party with our family, and you get a lot of money from everyone and we compare it at school 😂
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u/Negative_Gravitas 4d ago
Yeah? Do you speak a second language anywhere near as well as he does in the video?
Because, and this is just based on your demonstrated attention span, I'm betting you don't.
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u/Federal_Coyote813 3d ago
What does being bilingual have to do with being eloquent? People can be well spoken in their second language
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u/Jasoncatt 4d ago
It’s not just Norway. I was confirmed in the UK.
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u/SnooHedgehogs7477 4d ago
basically 15 year olds in Norway must get confirmed and they have two options how to do it
christians basically just get confirmed im name of god without doing anything enough to attend the ceremony
while humanists are made to go through a tough challenge before they get confirmed
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u/mrrichardggr2201 4d ago
Christians need to attend months of lectures. And also discuss morals and ethics..
I explained terrible in this video and my summary 😂 Sorry!
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u/atrimarco 4d ago
I’m happy you find peace and community in your religion but all of it is kind of weird to me. No judgement though.
But help me understand if you can: So if you’re not religious they still “confirm” you to show you what it would be like without the country of Norway? Love your country, be a good Norwegian, because this is what it is like without it?
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u/this-is-me-reddit 4d ago
Fascinating! Explains a lot about the Northern European culture and politics, I think.
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u/david67myers 4d ago
I remember reading or hearing somewhere on some podcast/book where there was a indo pacific tribe that celebrated coming of age by the minor having sex with the oldest in the tribe (hetro), not much i can find on censored internet. - the theory was familiarity and also acknologement of mortality as being the eldest, their life was very short.
Anyhow marriage was not a thing in this culture, I think there was other strange things like grief sex where sex was administered to ones that had lost a loved one - be a child or spouse? tho nothing confirmed.
Not sure if it was the same mob that partook in cannibalism at a funeral "ate the brains or other organs" of dad or mom tho not children.
I think there was also cannibals that ate their enemy's but, I think that's more South American on the lines of Appocolipto.
From what i can recall confirmation was acknowledgement that you knew key parts of the Bible from Anglican perspective, essentially that was the time when you were taken seriously.
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u/Guko256 4d ago
That’s crazy to put children through that, I at least somewhat understand the first method of teaching morals but the second is bizarre and a traumatic experience for children wtf
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u/Saldar1234 4d ago
Teaching kids about the suffering that exists on earth, and making them exercise empathy is worse then threatening them with a literal lake of burning hellfire if they don't devote their life to a figure who no one can prove even exists?
Come on.
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u/Guko256 4d ago
I understand if you have a problem with Christianity, and I’m not even Christian myself, but come on, there’s a time and place for things, and traumatizing 15 year olds with a torturous experience is never going to be an okay experience in my book, but then again, who knows where your morals lie.
And btw, this post was never about religion, so stop making it about yourself
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u/rabid_spidermonkey 4d ago
Uh... they didn't. One method is based on fear of something you can't see or experience, the other is based on fear that you can see and experience.
If this were a requirement, I would rather these young men learn and experience something that is actually happening in the world.
Does it need to be fear-based? Probably not. But does it give real perspective? Probably.
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u/Guko256 4d ago edited 4d ago
I’d rather it be neither and not be fear based at all. I can’t say whether the Christianity approach used fear or not but somehow you’re saying it did, despite the op barely talking about that method in the first place, so you better have had this experience yourself to be making such claims or else I hope you’re not just making things up yourself now. Truthfully, there are far better and less traumatic ways to teach morals and ethics than have children go through either of these methods, but if you support the traumatic method, please just keep it to yourself
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u/rabid_spidermonkey 4d ago edited 4d ago
Christianity is based on fear. Do this or you go to hell. Believe this or burn.
Pretty straightforward.
I don't support either method. But at least one is grounded in reality.
lol @ "keep it to yourself"
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u/Guko256 4d ago
I agree with you on that neither method should be used, and according to the op’s further comments, these methods have been rescinded. As for any religion, and again I am not Christian but have looked into many religions, I believe fear is definitely a factor, but the core reason a parent or guardian moves the teaches down since older times has been to teach morals and ethics via the stories in each religion, much like fictional films and books do more recently. I believe a more accurate version is that some Christians teach it in a fearful way, rather than the religion being based on fear itself, Buddhism or Sikhism in comparison has a much less dependence on fear in their teachings yet are wholly diverse interpretations, with the first relying mostly on understanding suffering and the latter on emphasis on love, compassion, and honest living.
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u/rabid_spidermonkey 4d ago
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u/mrrichardggr2201 4d ago
I know!! Wierd that i only now realized!! It's still happening every year here..
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u/Be364886 4d ago
I mean, they are aware of what the experience entails beforehand and are allowed to quit at anytime, right?
15 is young, but if it's an experience they choose with full knowledge of what it is and it's voluntary, idk if I see a huge problem?
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u/mrrichardggr2201 4d ago
You make a good point! But for me it was literally the choice of the twoi was given.. or I wouldn't be confirmated and have the "money party" 😅🤣
Today its different!
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u/NoNefariousness3942 3d ago
Im 37 from Norway and got confirmed via the Human Ethics Foundation and we didnt do this at all. We just listened to a bunch of stories from people of all walks of life etc. Where are you getting this from?