A former Muslim reformist who became one of Denmark’s most polarising voices on Islam has quietly taken up a state-salaried parish post in two South Zealand villages, formally appointed as an ordained priest in the Church of Denmark, with reported ambitions to reach Muslims through his ministry.
Naser Khader began his duties as parish priest at Rønnebæk Church on 1 July and will start at Fensmark Church on 1 August. Both parishes sit in Næstved Provsti under Roskilde Stift. His first sermon on 5 July drew a full church, as reported by TV 2 ØST. The appointment is not symbolic. He now holds a regular parish pastorate with responsibility for services, baptisms, weddings, funerals and pastoral care.
For many internationals, the Church of Denmark registers as a cultural relic. This case shows otherwise. The Folkekirke is a constitutionally established, state-supported church. Its internal conflicts carry real financial and societal weight. Members pay a specific church tax that varies by municipality. According to research briefing data, a full-time worker on DKK 450,000 annually pays roughly DKK 4,100 per year in kirkeskat in the Næstved area.
From Politician to Pulpit
Khader’s trajectory spans three decades. He published a book on honour and shame in Middle Eastern religious culture in 1996. That work launched his career as a public intellectual on integration. He entered parliament for Radikale Venstre in 2001. He founded Democratic Muslims in 2006. He co-founded Ny Alliance, later Liberal Alliance, in 2007. That attempt to reshape the Danish centre ultimately faded.
He served as a Conservative MP from 2015 to 2019. His rhetoric on Islam and integration hardened over those years. His political career ended in the early 2020s. Around 2023, he converted to Christianity and began theology studies at the University of Copenhagen. According to his own statements, he was baptised in August 2025.
A State Church, Not a Private Ministry
According to official church statistics, the Folkekirke counted 73.1 percent of Denmark’s population as members in 2024. That figure is down from 79.3 percent in 2014. The church is not merely a religious body. Unlike Sweden’s church, which separated from the state in 2000, Denmark’s church retains constitutional status as the established people’s church. According to Statistics Denmark and Eurostat data, Denmark’s share of population born abroad reached about 14.2 percent in 2024. Many in that group have no relationship to the national church, yet its structure and appointments still affect public finances and integration debates.
According to Danish Christian media reports, Khader has expressed a desire to help Muslims find their way to Christianity through his ministry. That ambition stands out in the Folkekirke context. The Church of Denmark counts only a handful of priests with a Muslim background, as bishops and Christian media consistently note. Khader’s appointment is statistically and symbolically unusual.
Polarisation in the Pews
Supporters frame his move as a powerful testimony of personal transformation. They see him as a strategic asset in reaching immigrants who might otherwise never engage with the church. His background as a critic of Islamism is presented as evidence he understands the religious and cultural environment of Muslim minorities. Some argue his entry demonstrates the church is open to converts, not just a cultural club for ethnic Danes.
Critics question whether such a polarising figure can provide pastoral care to all parishioners. His reported ambition to reach Muslims can be read as targeted proselytisation. That risks being especially sensitive in a state church context given Denmark’s history of tying national identity to Lutheranism. For many Muslims and secular internationals, his move looks less like a spiritual journey and more like an extension of culture-war politics into the pulpit.
What This Means for Internationals
Any resident with a CPR number can check their Folkekirke membership status via borger.dk or their municipal tax overview. Leaving or joining is administratively simple. Contact the local parish office. Non-Danish citizens can be members of the Folkekirke if baptised into it or admitted by the parish priest. Internationals in the Næstved area could, in principle, have Khader as their parish priest if they live within his parish boundaries.
Muslim or otherwise non-Christian internationals have no obligation to engage with the Folkekirke. Attendance at services and participation in church life are entirely voluntary. School or civic events in churches usually offer opt-out possibilities. Those curious about his sermons can freely attend public Sunday services in Rønnebæk or Fensmark. Parish websites typically list service times and contact details.
Identity, Religion and the State
According to Eurostat and the European Social Survey, Denmark combines one of Europe’s higher levels of formal church membership with some of the lowest self-reported religious practice. The church functions as a key cultural institution even for many who rarely believe or attend. Former Muslim politicians becoming Christian clergy in a state church are extremely rare in Europe. More common are cases of ex-Muslim activists becoming secular commentators or joining independent evangelical churches.
Khader’s trajectory offers a window into how identity, religion and politics intertwine in Denmark. The same person can, within one lifetime, be held up as a model integrated Muslim, then criticised as a hardliner on Islam, and finally presented as a Christian priest. All within a state structure that still formally privileges the Lutheran church. For internationals deciding whether to stay long-term, that intertwining is worth watching closely.
