The Council for Religious and Life Stance Communities in Norway (STL), established in 1996, is an umbrella organisation bringing together religious and life stance communities.
The two main goals of the Council are:
The work of the Council for the promotion of equality focuses on the areas of education (kindergarten, school, university), work place, health institutions (hospitals and homes for the elderly), detention centres, the military and graveyards.
The Council is currently engaged on a number of ethical issues including environmental issues, biotechnology, gender equality and the rights of refugees.
The council or the Forum for religious- and life stance leaders have on several occasions published joint statements on several topic. Some of these are avalible in english
Within the European context, the Council has a unique profile for three reasons:
The Council further facilitates regular meetings of senior religious leaders. The level of mutual knowledge, trust and cooperation established within and supported by the Council, has proved to be an effective tool to address sensitive issues in the field of religious pluralism and has worked as a tool for conflict prevention in Norway among religious and life stance communities.