Staale is quite right in his description of the state of religion here in Norway. It is probably impossible to imagine for most Americans how different the religious terrain here is. Atheism is the norm. Old-school Christianity is almost extinct ... it is mostly found among the elderly, and they are dying off fast now. Among young people, only around one in ten is a Christian.  These are mostly absorbed into the Green vMeme; if anything, Green here has a fairly strong Christian flavor. Sharing wealth, helping the unfortunate, showing respect for the marginalized... all this is considered typical modern "Christian-Humanist" values.  The remnants of the Blue vMeme are mocked and vilified as a parody of Christianity obsessed with sex, preferably gay sex.

A prevailing idea is that you don't need to be Christian to hold Christian values. Actually, it is widely considered a bit weird and stupid to believe in Christian dogma, while the "Christian values" are considered valuable and universal. Christianity, like the pagan Asatru that preceded it, is considered a part of our past, from which we salvage the valuable parts and quietly bury the rest.

Despite the breakdown of Bue religion, Norway is still painfully ethnocentric. Probably less so than most other nations, but that does not say much. Media still report as if a Norwegian life is worth a thousand African ones. Only a small intellectual crust are aware of international trends in thought, politics or economy before the waves reach our shores and change our lives.

Religion is simply not as important to common people as most Americans think. Perhaps it really is mostly of interest to the very stupid and the very smart, as Robert Godwin sometimes says.

All spiritual paths converge before the bridge of Quiet. Whether you faithfully attend mass or sanctify the Sabbath, whether your meditate each morning or kneel in prayer five times a day, whether you count your rosaries or chant the holy names, it must lead you to quiet. A quiet that is so strong that eventually you will recognize it in the middle of chaos, the way you easily pick out the voice of a loved one even in a crowded room. This is where the bridge begins that takes us from being another well-meaning human to eventually becoming spiritual.

As long as there is fluttering of wings within our chest, we will necessarily be brought out of balance, at a time not of our choosing.  From the restless mind come unintended thoughts, words and actions. This cannot be avoided.