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.

Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson

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 t...