Ásatrú, an Old Norse paganism, has become the fastest growing non-Christian religion in Iceland. When most people think of this country, religion is not normally what pops into their minds. However, over 75% of the Icelandic population are registered as members of a religious organization.

Later, in the random fact of the episode, I share the number of Icelanders belonging to the top five religious organizations in the country.

When & Why Was Ásatrú Founded

Paganism was once the norm in Iceland. In fact, the majority of the settlers that came to Iceland in the 900s were members of Ásatrú. However, the spread of Christianity drastically diminished its members and Christianity became the official religion of the country in the year 1000. While the Alþingi declared that Christianity would be the only religion in Iceland, people were still allowed to practice the old religion, just as long as they did it in secret.

The re-recognition of Ásatrú in Iceland came about in 1973 and the journey to that recognition is quite fascinating. Four men named Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson, Jörmundur Ingi Hansen, Dagur Þorleifsson and Þorsteinn Guðjónsson met in a cafe in Reykjavík during winter in 1972. That is when they came up with the idea to found a folk religion. It is believed that the start of this religion was due in part to the counter cultural and religious sentiments at the time. Additionally, nationalism, and interest in spiritism and elves created a near perfect environment for the resurgence of Ásatrú.

Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson, who later became the first high priest of the re-emerged Ásatrú, believed that the religion was based on a belief of hidden forces in the land. He also felt that Icelanders had a desire to have their own religion and that they should support it just as much as they do imported religions. Ásatrú, in many ways, was a movement back to nature in a time where the negative effects of being an industrialized civilization were rearing their ugly head.

The Road to Recognition

To gain recognition of Ásatrú as an official religion in Iceland, Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson and Þorsteinn Guðjónsson met with Ólafur Jóhannesson, the minister of justice and ecclesiastical affairs, in Iceland, right before Christmas in 1972. At first, the minister thought they were joking but once he realized that they weren’t, he requested more paperwork. A funny occurrence that goes along with this story is that when Sveinbjörn and Þorsteinn left the minister, a thunderstorm caused the lights in the center of Reykjavík to go out. According to an article in Vísir at that time, the paper joked that Þór, the God of Thunder, was showing his dissatisfaction with the vague answers that Sveinbjörn and Þorsteinn had received.

The most notable opposition to the re-recognition of the religion came from the Bishop of Iceland, Sigurbjörn Einarsson. He went on to publish his opinion in Morgunblaðið, which pointed out that the Icelandic constitution did grant everyone the right to “found organizations to serve god but that this assumed a monotheistic outlook.” The Bishop also criticized the organization for having vague teachings and no house of worship.

He took his criticism even further by trying to connect the Ásatrú to the racial ideology of Nazi Germany and the re-emergence in the belief of German folklore during that time. The Bishop was essentially calling into question the moral teachings of the organization. Lastly, he felt that since there were only 21 people seeking recognition, they were quite small. Morgunblaðið, the country’s biggest newspaper agreed with him and put out a very bold statement. They stated that Christianity was the “basis of Icelandic society” and that “Christ is enough, though he was not enough for Hitler, Stalin or their followers”.

Fighting for the Right For Ásatrú to Be Recognized

The members of Ásatrú replied to the bishop’s criticism by saying that Christianity has some polytheistic elements and that their religion could include a belief in a Supreme Being. They also expressed that it was highly improbable that a member of Ásatrú had been associated with the Third Reich. However, they know for a fact that many Christian sects had cooperated with the Nazis.

In the end, the Bishop and Morgunblaðið’s opinions did not prevent Ásatrú from being officially recognized. They were granted the title of a religious organization by the Icelandic government in May 1973. With this recognition, they have the legal right to perform marriages and other ceremonies. They are also entitled to a share of church tax, which is calculated based on the number of adult members.

Unfortunately, the drama didn’t end there. Two members of the Independence Party, also known as Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn, requested an explanation as to why Ásatrú had been given legal recognition. Ólafur, the minister that granted the recognition, defended his decision by saying that the constitution granted freedom of religion and freedom of association.

According to Independence party members, recognizing a polytheistic religion and idol worship was in direct opposition to the constitution because freedom of religion only applied to monotheistic religions. The minister essentially stated that the constitution’s stance on this particular matter had been up for debate by legal scholars. Because it was not crystal clear that the Icelandic constitution only applied to monotheistic religions, the recognition of Ásatrú as a religion was upheld.

A couple of years later in 1975, the Alþingi, or parliament in Iceland, changed the law so that it became more difficult for new religious organizations to gain recognition.

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What Makes Ásatrú So Unique

Now that you have a little backstory on when and how Ásatrú was created, I think it is interesting to share why this religion is unique. Besides being the religion of the Vikings and polytheistic, there are other aspects to the religion that set it apart from Christianity.  

The Beliefs of the Religion

One thing that I was pleasantly surprised by while learning about this religion is that it is one of peace and tolerance. They do not believe in glorifying heroism, battles, blood or militarism. As you can tell, it is quite different than the Viking version of this religion that was practiced during the settlement times.

Because it is so open and philosophical, some people feel it is similar to Unitarian Universalism. However, Ásatrú focuses on keeping harmony with nature and the search for harmony in one’s life. Unlike most religions, they don’t have a prescribed scripture or dogma. If you feel the need to read something, they will encourage you to read the Poetic and Prose Eddas written by Snorri Sturluson. There is no praying to gods and the gods are not seen as perfect or divine. In fact, the gods don’t judge you and could even be seen as friends.

What is also fascinating is that Ásatrú’s growth has not been from members trying to directly convert others to follow. The high priest of the religion believes that people will want to join if they learn about the organization and see their ceremonies.

Here is what the current high priest Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson said about his faith in an interview in 2003:

I believe in a higher power which appears to us in the multiplicity of nature and of human life. We have manifestations of certain primal forces which we regard as gods and we have a division in the roles of the gods. These are powers that are visible, half-visible and sometimes invisible. One could have a long scholarly discussion on the role of individual gods, but in the end this is a question of a feeling for the different aspects of life.

Hilmar Örn hilmarsson

In 2010, he was quoted as saying:

“ Monotheism is one truth for the masses, but polytheism is many truths for the individual. ”

Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson

How It Is Set Up

The setup of the organization i