Church of the Faroe Islands Church of the Faroe Islands The Church of the Faroe Islands (, "people's church") is one of the smallest of the world's state churches. Prior to its becoming independent on 29 July 2007, it had been a diocese of the Church of Denmark, a Lutheran church. As of 2017, 80.2% of the Faroe Islanders belonged to the state church. Other churches in the Faroe Islands include the Plymouth Brethren and the Catholic Church. According to "Færeyinga saga", it was the Viking chief Sigmundur Brestisson who brought Christianity to the Faroe Islands. On the orders of the Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason,
Religion in the Faroe Islands is nowadays more widespread and intense among the Faroese. The Faroe Islands became Christianized between 850 and 1000. Evidence exists for conversions by Celtic Christian missionaries as early as 850, but the Catholic Church was not established on the islands by the latter year. The "Færeyinga saga" is often cited with respect to the early spread of Christendom in the islands. The saga states that the king of Norway told Sigmund to go by ship to the Faroe Islands with orders from the King. Sigmund's orders were clear: he was supposed to make the 18 small islands Christian, which is