Religion in Iceland was initially the Norse mythology that was commonly belived by Vikings. Later the nation became half-Christian and then more fully Christian. This increasing Christianization culminated in the Pietism period when non-Christian entertainments were discouraged. At present the population is overwhelmingly, if nominally, Lutheran. However there are also Catholics, Jehovah's Witness, Mormons, Muslims and others. There are also folk beliefs concerning elves that do not rise to the level of religion, but have gained some note.[1] Norse or Scandinavian mythology comprises the pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people, including those who settled on Iceland, where the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ... The name Viking is a loan from the native Scandinavian term for the Norse seafaring warriors who raided the coasts of Scandinavia, Europe and the British Isles from the late 8th century to the 11th century, the period of European history referred to as the Viking Age. ... Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late-17th century to the mid-18th century. ... For alternate meanings, see Lightning (disambiguation). ...

Norse religion period

Many of the early Icelandic sagas concerned the Norse religion period even though many of them were written after the official conversion to Christianity. The Hrafnkels saga is perhaps one of the more well-known examples to deal with the Norse period as its main character is initially dedicated to Freyr. Although later he rejects religion in general. The Norse sagas or Viking sagas (Icelandic: Íslendingasögur), are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, about migration to Iceland, and of feuds between Icelandic families. ... The first page of Hrafnkels saga from ÁM. 156, fol. ... This 19th century representation of Freyr shows him with his boar Gullinbursti and his sword. ...

Conversion to Christianity

Main article: Christianization of Iceland

There had been some Christians in Iceland from the beginning as Irish slaves or in a few cases as land owners. It is also alleged that Irish monks had a settlement that predated the Viking settlement of Iceland. However Iceland's true Christian period began later. Iceland converted to the Christian religion in 1000 AD. In Icelandic, this event is known as the kristnitaka. ...

Around 1000 Iceland initially converted to Christianity in a partial and diplomatic way. The compromise measure came about due to the Norse-pagan Þorgeirr Ljósvetningagoði and is also dealt with in the article on the Íslendingabók. In the compromise the old laws allowing Infanticide and eating horsemeat would stay. Furthermore pagan sacrifices remained legal if they were done in private. However in public and officially the nation became Christian. This was in part to please the Christianized kings of Norway, a main trading partner for Medieval Iceland, and in part to satisfy Iceland's growing Christian faction. Over time the allowances for paganism dwindled. Europe in 1000 The year 1000 of the Gregorian Calendar was the last year of the 10th century as well as the last year of the first millennium. ... Þorgeirr Þorkelsson Ljósvetningagoði (born ca. ... Íslendingabók, Libellus Islandorum or The Book of Icelanders is an historical work dealing with early Icelandic history. ... In sociology and biology, infanticide is the practice of intentionally causing the death of an infant of a given species, by members of the same species - often by the mother. ...

Still their relationship to the rest of Christendom remained strained for the first few centuries. The Catholic Church officially disproved of several variance they had from the rest of the Christian world. For example the Althing could, and did in cases like Jón Ögmundsson, vote to make someone a saint. Although the standards of canonization were not yet regularized this was considered unusual. Added to that the Church was subservient to the chieftains as churches were often on their land. The priests often had concubines or were themselves children of concubines. Lastly the convent was often made up of older widows of wealthy Icelanders. This meant a Nun could, and sometimes was, both widow of a previous bishop and mother of the current one. This gave nuns an unusual position. The Alþing, commonly Anglicized as Althing (Modern Icelandic Alþingi; Old Norse Alþing) is the national parliament: literally, the all-thing of Iceland. ... Bishop Jón holds a crook and a book in this illustration from a 19th century Icelandic manuscript. ...

The Reformation

The Reformation almost completely obliterated Catholic Iceland. It also proved to be more violent than in most of the lands ruled by Denmark. This came in part because Jón Arason's resistance of the Reformation was in part proto-nationalistic and escalated nearly to the point of civil war. (See article on him for further details) In the end he lost and Catholicism declined. Although it may have hung on in rural lands until, perhaps, the eighteenth century it had likely disappeared after that date. Jón Arason (1484-1550) was an Icelandic bishop and poet. ...

Pietism

Starting in the eighteenth century Pietism rose in importance due to activity from Denmark. The pietists expanded printing and literature in Iceland. However education and literacy for the Pietists was primarily or solely to have a religious function and they discouraged anything without religious meaning.[2] This led to encouraging a certain dourness to Iceland by discouraging dancing or other entertainments. Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late-17th century to the mid-18th century. ...

Modern Iceland

In modern times the Icelanders are mostly a secular people with low church attendance. However some religions still have some impact on the culture.

Christian

At least officially, the nation is religiously homogeneous. Non-Christian religions account for less than 5% of the population and the vast majority of Christians are Lutherans. Although church attendance is low and actual beliefs of Icelanders have in least some variety.

Lutherans

Official statistics place Iceland as overwhelmingly Lutheran. The main church is the Church of Iceland which represents 85.5% of the population. The Church of Iceland is also the State Church, but religious freedom is practiced. There are several "free Lutheran" churches as well which total 4.5% of the population. In recent years there has been an increase in the proportion linked to the free Lutheran churches. In total 90%, or perhaps more, of the population is registered as some form of Lutheran, these statistics are by some considered misleading since most people are automatically registered as members of the state religion. The National Church of Iceland, or Þjóðkirkjan, formally called the Evangelical Lutheran Church, is the state church in Iceland. ... Nations with state religions:  Buddhism  Islam  Shia Islam  Sunni Islam  Orthodox Christianity  Protestantism  Roman Catholic Church A state religion (also called an official religion, established church or state church) is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state. ...

However estimates indicate that only 10% of the population attends religious service regularly and that 43% never attend.

Catholics

In contemporary times Catholicism has had a greater acceptance and success in Iceland. It is perhaps the largest non-Lutheranism faith in Iceland, but at the same time it remains a small minority. There is currently a Roman Catholic diocese in Reykjavík with Jóhannes Gijsen as Bishop.[3] It is estimated that half of the nation's Catholics are foreign born with the main groups being Poles and Filipinos.

In the twentieth century Iceland had some notable, if at times temporary, converts to the faith. For a time Halldór Laxness was Catholic. Although this did not last his Catholic period is of importance due to his position in modern Icelandic literature. A more consistently Catholic writer in Icelandic was Jón Sveinsson. He moved to France at 13 and became a Jesuit. He remained in the Society of Jesus for the rest of his life. He was a well-liked as a children's book author who wrote in Icelandic and he even appeared on a postage stamp there.[4] Halldór Laxness Halldór Kiljan Laxness (born Halldór Guðjónsson) (April 23, 1902 – February 8, 1998) was a 20th century Icelandic author of such novels as Independent People, The Atom Station, Paradise Reclaimed, Icelands Bell, The Fish Can Sing and World Light. ... Jón Stefán Sveinsson (16 November 1857, near Akureyri - 16 October 1944, Cologne) was an Icelandic childrens writer and member of the Society of Jesus. ... Seal of the Society of Jesus. ...

Pentecostals

The Pentecostals are the next largest religious group in Iceland. There are Pentecostal churches in Keflavík, Akureyri and the capital. A website, Gospel Iceland a site in Icelandic, also exists for the movement in Iceland. Vörður Traustason is a contact person for the Pentecostal assembly in Iceland. Keflavík on the Reykjanes peninsula of Iceland Keflavík is a town of around 10,200 inhabitants in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland (64°01′N 22°34′W). ... Nickname: Höfuðstaður Norðurlands (Capital of North Iceland) Location in Iceland Coordinates: Constituency Northeast Area    - City 125 km²  (48. ...

Seventh-day Adventists

The Seventh-day Adventists have some organization in Iceland. They have their own website and also a local conference. Gavin Anthony is a leading figure in Adventism in Iceland.[5] That said growth has been static for ten years and the Adventists tend to indicate this is caused by the generalized secularism of the nation. The group represents less than .3% of the population. The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA), colloquially referred to as the Adventists, is an evangelical Protestant Christian denomination that grew out of the prophetic Millerite movement in the United States during the middle part of the 19th century. ...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Mormons have a fairly small presence in Iceland, but worth mentioning for historical reasons. In the nineteenth century LDS missionaries came to Iceland and converted a few local residents. In 1855 these residents would become the genesis of the first Icelandic community overseas in Spanish Fork, Utah.[6] The Mormons are also said to be the only group who is currently active in trying to proselytize in Iceland. The Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest attraction in the citys Temple Square. ... Year 1855 (MDCCCLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Spanish Fork is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. ...

Other Christian

Several of the other groups, like the Jehovah's Witness, are in fact larger than the Mormons. The Watchtower estimates the nation has 289 Jehovah's Witnesses with 6 baptized in that faith[7]. Intriguingly the estimates by the Iceland census is over twice that number. Guðmundur Halldór Guðmundsson is listed as a contact person for Jehovah's Witnesses in Iceland. Eastern Orthodoxy, Serbian and Russian, also has a small presence on the island. There are also various religions with small numbers, less than 100, that have managed to be registered. The smallest registered religion is the Fyrsta Baptista Kirkja/First Baptist Church with 35 members with the listed contact person being Patrick V. Weimer (Patrekur Vilhjálmsson). First Baptist Church, located on the southern peninsula of Iceland (representing 25,000 people), is one of only two Baptist churches in Iceland and is the largest attended church in that region (though smallest according to the State registry). Iceland is governed by a State religion mentality requiring people to register under their respective religion. Baptists tradionally oppose this idea and therefore do not requre their members to register. Hence, they have small numbers in the registry but larger numbers in true membership. There are 22 registered religions in all. The small Christian denominations have a combined total of only a few percent, if that.

Non-Christian

A small minority practice a variety of non-Christian faiths. Of these, the Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið is probably the largest non-Christian faith native to the island.

Asatru

Main article: Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið

In the 1970s there was interest among some Icelanders to revive the pre-Christian faith in some form. This issue is dealt with in more detail at the article on Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið. The Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið Icelandic fellowship of Æsir faith (Ásatrú) is an Icelandic new religious movement with the purpose of reviving the pre-Christianization religion of Scandinavia. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... The Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið Icelandic fellowship of Æsir faith (Ásatrú) is an Icelandic new religious movement with the purpose of reviving the pre-Christianization religion of Scandinavia. ...

Muslims

Salmann Tamimi is a contact person for the nation's Muslim Association.

See also: Islam in Iceland

Iceland may have the lowest number of muslims in any country. ...

Buddhism

There are Buddhist websites based in Iceland such as Karuna from the New Kadampa Tradition. Óskar Ingólfsson is a contact person for Zen in Iceland. There is also an Icelandic Buddhist association with a few hundred members. In addition, Rev. José M. Tirado, a Jodo Shinshu priest, poet and activist with an extensive background in Zen, Vajrayana and Fourth Way studies, has taught an eclectic blend of each in a meditation-based counseling program several times in Iceland.([8]) This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

Judaism

See also: History of the Jews in Iceland

The number is uncertain, but generally agreed to very low. The Jewish population is small enough that it has not registered and is listed as unspecified/other groups, and there is no synagogue or prayer house. Jews did not come to Iceland until the 17th century, but even then there was no real immigration until the 1930s. ...

There was no solid Jewish emigration to Iceland until the twentieth century, but some Jewish merchants lived in Iceland temporarily at points in the nineteenth century. At the millennial celebration of the Althing in 1874 a Jewish journalist was mentioned. There was also discussion of Jewish issues in Iceland. This discussion ranged from sympathetic of their plight to sympathizers for the Nazi Party who blamed Jews for "Bolshevism" among other things. Icelanders tended to have limited contact with actual Jewish people so most of this was theoretical. Although most Icelanders sympathized with them in their persecution they usually refused entry to Jews who were fleeing Nazi Germany and so the Jewish population did not rise much during the Second World War.[9] Year 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Today the religion remains minor as an element of Iceland. However up to 60 people in Iceland do attend occasional Jewish holiday parties or lectures by Jewish immigrants. However this does not necessarily mean the Jewish population is 60 as some Jewish people who live there might not attend and non-Jewish people may have attended out of curiosity or friendship. The World Jewish Congress had no figures for Iceland in 1998 confirming that the numbers are under 120 and likely well under that figure.[10] The site for the Catholic diocese indicated there are only 30 Jewish people in Iceland[11], but as their estimate of Muslims is unusually low they might be underreporting Judaism as well. Still it seems that, exempting several of the European micro-states, Iceland might have the lowest Jewish population of any European nation. The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... The worlds five smallest sovereign states: Vatican City, Monaco, Nauru, Tuvalu and San Marino, shown in the same scale for size comparison A microstate (or ministate) is a sovereign state having a very small population or very little land area – usually both. ...

Despite that the first lady, Dorrit Moussaieff, is Jewish by birth and is likely the most significant Jewish woman in Icelandic history. A menorah was found for her as it is rare for an Icelandic leader to need one. However she is largely secular and has a negative view of her birthplace of Israel.[12] Dorrit Moussaieff is the second and current wife of Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, president of Iceland. ... A coin issued by Mattathias Antigonus, c. ...

Other non-Christian

There are various other non-Christian groups in the nation. The largest not mentioned would be the Bahá'í Faith, but none of these combined equals more than a percent or so. Non-religion or secularism is relatively large as eluded to and there is an organization for it called Siðmennt. [13] It is similar to the Human-Etisk Forbund in Norway and claims a membership between 100 and 200, a far lower proportion of the nation then the Norwegian organization. Also unlike the Human-Etisk Forbund, Siðmennt is not recognized as a religious community by the state and thus does not receive any funds from the state like registered religious organizations do. People outside religious organizations still pay the "church tax" but the money goes to the University of Iceland. There are other Icelandic instutitions for the secular branches within society, such as the SAMT or Samfélags trúlausra. Vantrú is a vocal association of atheists that criticizes all things supernatural. Skeptíkus is an association of atheists on the University of Iceland campus. Seat of the Universal House of Justice, governing body of the Baháís, in Haifa, Israel The Baháí Faith is the religion founded by Baháulláh in 19th century Persia. ... Human-Etisk Forbund (HEF), the Norwegian Humanist Association, is currently one of the largest Humanist associations in the world, with 76,470 members (January 2006). ... The University of Iceland (Háskóli Íslands) is a state university, founded in 1911. ... The University of Iceland (Háskóli Íslands) is a state university, founded in 1911. ...

The percent of Icelanders who "don't believe in any sort of spirit, God, or life force" is 11% according to a 2004 Eurobarometer study Social Values, Science and Technology.[14] This is lower than in Norway or the United Kingdom while expressed belief in God was about the same in Iceland as in the UK and higher than in most of Scandinavia. The majority of Icelanders preferred to express belief in a "spirit or life force" rather than express a belief in God or a generalized disbelief. Eurobarometer is a survey performed by Public Opinion Analysis sector of the European Commission since 1973. ...

Table from 2006 census

The National Church of Iceland, or Þjóðkirkjan, formally called the Evangelical Lutheran Church, is the state church in Iceland. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Roman Catholic Church... The Pentecostal movement within Evangelical Christianity places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as shown in the Biblical account of the Day of Pentecost. ... The Seventh-day Adventist (abbreviated Adventist[1]) Church is a Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week, as the Sabbath. ... The Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest attraction in the citys Temple Square. ... Flag of the Serbian Orthodox Church The MONTENEGRO Orthodox Church (crnogorski: Crnogorska Православна Црква / Crnogorska Pravoslavna Crkva; СПЦ / SPC) or the Church of Montenegro is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia. ... The Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian: ), also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is that body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs and primates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... Seat of the Universal House of Justice, governing body of the Baháís, in Haifa, Israel The Baháí Faith is the religion founded by Baháulláh in 19th century Persia. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism notable for its emphasis on practice and experiential wisdom—particularly as realized in the form of meditation known as zazen—in the attainment of awakening. ...

See Also

• Roman Catholicism in Iceland
• Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland
• Islam in Iceland
• Judaism in Iceland
• Religion by country

The Catholic Church in Iceland is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome. ... Iceland may have the lowest number of muslims in any country. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Notes

References

• Medieval Iceland:Society, Sagas, and Power by Jesse L. Byock (University of California Press, 1988: Specifically pages 137-164)
• The History of Iceland by Gunnar Karlsson (University of Minnesota Press, 2000) ISBN 0-8166-3589-7
• US Department of State Report
• Information center on religious groups in Iceland