It is the church for the Gulen parish which is part of the Nordhordland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

[6][8] By the early 1800s, the vicar Niels Griis Alstrup Dahl (1778–1852) was an avid proponent of building a new church in Eivindvik, and he worked extensively towards that goal.

When he died in 1852, the reaction of many in the community was that it important to build the new church to pay tribute to the memory of Dahl.

In 1860, a royal decree was handed down that gave the municipality permission to build a church of that size.

[3][4][5] In 1890, the municipality, parish, and church all changed their names to Gulen, after the old Gulating assembly.

In 1963, a sacristy was built on the south side of the choir and a new coat room and bathroom were also constructed at the same time.