Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige Altare vid Julblot 2010-12-19

Modern paganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

is almost exclusively dominated by

Germanic Heathenry Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th cent ...

, in forms and groups reviving

Norse paganism Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is the most common name for a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic peopl ...

. These are generally split into two streams characterised by a different approach to folk and folklore:

Ásatrú Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th cent ...

, a movement that been associated with the most innovative and Edda-based approaches within Heathenry, and Forn Siðr, ''Forn Sed'' or ''Nordisk Sed'', a movement marked by being generally more traditionalist,

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established fo ...

-focused and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

-rooted, characterised by a worldview which its proponents call ''folketro'' ("faith of the folk", "folk religion"). ''Forn Siðr'' may also be a term for Scandinavian Heathenry in general. ''Vanatrú'' defines the religion of those individuals or groups in which the worship of the

Vanir In Norse mythology, the Vanir (; Old Norse: , singular Vanr ) are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods (the other being the Æsir) and are the namesake of the ...

dominates.

Religions

A split in classification has arisen in the Scandinavian Heathen milieu (with the exception of Iceland) and is determined by approach to historicity and historical accuracy. On one hand, there is the ''Ásatrú'' movement represented by the "Eddaic" reconstructionists who aim to understand the pre-Christian Germanic religion based on academic research and the Edda, and implement reconstructions in their practice. Contrasting with this is the ''Forn Siðr'', ''Forn Sed'' or ''Nordisk Sed'' movement, characterised by a "

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

alist" or "folkist" approach, in Scandinavia known as ''fólkatrú'', which emphasizes living local tradition as central. Traditionalists will not reconstruct, but base their rituals on intimate knowledge of regional folklore. Proponents of traditionalism include the Norwegian

Forn Sed Norge Forn Sed Norge (Old Ways Norway),About Forn Sed Norway
(slide presentation), Forn ...

and the Swedish Samfälligheten för Nordisk Sed. Both religions reject the ideas of Romanticist or New Age currents as reflected in

Armanism Armanism and Ariosophy are esoteric ideological systems that were developed largely by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels respectively, in Austria between 1890 and 1930. The term 'Ariosophy', which means the wisdom of the Aryans, was in ...

or American Asatru. At the other end of this scale are syncretist or eclectic approaches which merge innovation or "personal gnosis" into historical or folkloric tradition. The "folkists" define their religion as ''Nordisk Sed'' ("Nordic Custom"), preferring this term over ''Ásatrú'', which is mostly associated with the "eclectic" reconstructionists.

By country

Denmark

In Denmark the Forn Siðr — Ásatrú and Vanatrú Association in Denmark was formed in 1999, and officially recognized in 2003.

Norway

Two Pagan organizations are recognized by the Norwegian government as religious societies: Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost formed in 1996 (Asatru Fellowship " Bifrost"; with some 300 members ) and

Forn Sed Norge Forn Sed Norge (Old Ways Norway),About Forn Sed Norway
(slide presentation), Forn ...

formed in 1998 (with some 85 members ). Being recognized by the government allows them to perform "legally binding civil ceremonies". Forn Sed Norge is a member of the

European Congress of Ethnic Religions The European Congress of Ethnic Religions (ECER) is an organisation for cooperation among associations that promote the ethnic religions of Europe.Vigrid, makes racial teachings a part of their ideological framework, as well as using

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's flag colors and structure in their banner. For this reason many consider them to be neo-Nazis. Vigrid has also influenced Norway's view on pagan symbols, causing many Norwegians to believe that the symbols are racist in nature.

Sweden

In Sweden, Sveriges Asatrosamfund formed in 1994, and renamed to

Swedish Forn Sed Assembly The Community of Forn Sed Sweden ( sv, Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige), formerly the Swedish Asatro Community (''Sveriges Asatrosamfund'') is a heathen (Germanic neopagan) organization founded in 1994. History The Swedish Asatro Community ( sv, Sver ...

(''Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige'') in 2010. At present it is the second largest national organization for heathenry. The largest organization is the Nordic Asa-Community, formed in 2014. A difference between the two is that the Sweden Forn Sed Assembly takes an explicitly political stance on issues such as

xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

, whereas the Nordic Asa-Community asserts to be non-political and has banned political symbols from its activities. A number of independent local groups (blotlag) also exist. Some of these used to be part of ''Nätverket Forn Sed'' ("The Forn Sed Network") when it was operational. Another group operational in the country is Samfälligheten för Nordisk Sed ("Community for Nordic Sed").

Iceland

Ásatrúarfélagið Ásatrúarfélagið (, ''Ásatrú Fellowship'') is an Icelandic religious organisation of heathenry (in Iceland also called ', " ás faith"). It was founded on the first day of summer (Iceland) 1972, and granted recognition as a registered rel ...

was recognized as a religious organization by the

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

ic government in 1973. Its first leader was farmer and poet Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson. It is the largest non-Christian religious organization in Iceland and has some 3,583 members (as of January 1st, 2017), making up just over 1% of the total population. Another group is the '.

Traditionalism versus reconstructionism

''Folketro'' (Danish, Norwegian) or ''folktro'' (Swedish) is the

North Germanic The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also r ...

for "

folk religion In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized re ...

", referring to

Scandinavian folklore Nordic folklore is the folklore of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It has common roots with, and has been mutually influenced by, folklore in England, Germany, the Low Countries, the Baltic countries, Finland an ...

in particular. In the Scandinavian Heathen discourse, the term is used for a

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

that consists of a folklore that is believed to be the descendant of historical

. ''Folketro'' is considered a living tradition and that does not include the use of reconstructionism in any way, nor the use of historical sources such as the Edda or notation of folklore. The term is in conscious contrast to ''

Asatru Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th cent ...

'', the reconstructionist revival of medieval Norse polytheism. Preferred terms are ''Forn Sed'' ("Old Custom") or ''Nordisk Sed'' ("Nordic Custom"). Attention is rather given to traditional

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

and

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

s. Critics refer to the ''folketro'' movement as ''funtrad'' (for ''fundamentalistisk traditionalisme'', "fundamentalistic traditionalism"). Not to be confused is the "radical traditionalism" of the

New Right New Right is a term for various right-wing political groups or policies in different countries during different periods. One prominent usage was to describe the emergence of certain Eastern European parties after the collapse of the Soviet Uni ...

, which invokes national mysticist or

occultist The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

notions of a pan-Indo-European tradition rather than the focus on regional customs advocated by ''folketro''. Proponents of ''Folketro'' include the Samfälligheten för Nordisk Sed in Sweden and Forn Sed Norge in Norway.

References

External links

Óðsmál by Guðrún Kristín Magnúsdóttir

Forn Siðr — Ásatrú and Vanatrú Association in Denmark

Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost

Foreningen Forn Sed

Swedish Forn Sed Assembly

Samfälligheten för Nordisk Sed

Ásatrúarfélagið

Æsir Kindred MC world- Heathen Motorcycle club
{{Religion in Iceland

Modern paganism in Denmark Modern paganism in Iceland Modern paganism in Norway Modern paganism in Sweden