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

Modern paganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the Paganism, beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some comm ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

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 century, ...

, in forms and groups reviving

Norse paganism Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is a branch of Germanic paganism, Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse language, Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into Germanic peoples, distinc ...

. 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 paganism, modern pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the ea ...

, a movement that been associated with the most innovative and Edda-based approaches within Heathenry, and

Forn Siðr Forn is a surname. People with the surname include: * Ivar Andreas Forn (born 1983), Norwegian footballer * Joaquim Forn (born 1964), Spanish Catalan politician * Josep Maria Forn Josep Maria Forn i Costa (; April 4, 1928 – October 3, 2021) w ...

, ''Forn Sed'' or ''Nordisk Sed'', a movement marked by being generally more traditionalist,

ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

-focused and

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

-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 "Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been applied by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poems ( ...

, 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 system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

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 and the Swedish

Samfälligheten för Nordisk Sed Samfälligheten för Nordisk Sed () is a Swedish modern pagan organisation founded in 1997. It adheres to a version of Nordic neopaganism that emphasises folk beliefs and claims an unbroken continuity through these. The organisation has few memb ...

. Both religions reject the ideas of Romanticist or New Age currents as reflected in

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

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 The Forn Siðr — Ásatrú and Vanatrú Association in Denmark ( Danish: ''Forn Siðr — Asa- og Vanetrosamfundet i Danmark'') is a Danish nationwide religious organisation of the followers of Forn Siðr ( Ásatrú and Vanatrú), the contempo ...

was formed in 1999, and officially recognized in 2003.

Norway

Two Pagan organizations are recognized by the Norwegian government as religious societies:

Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost is a Norse neopagan organisation in Norway. It was founded in 1996 and acts as an umbrella organisation for a number of local groups in Norway. History Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost, originally named Bifrost, has its ...

formed in 1996 (Asatru Fellowship " Bifrost"; with some 300 members ) and Forn Sed Norge 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 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, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

'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. Researcher Egil Astrem suggests that a "moral panic" arose regarding paganism being viewed as linked to Satanism within broader Norwegian society, and viewed as a threat to the stability of moral community within the nation.

Sweden

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

Swedish Forn Sed Assembly The Community of Forn Sed Sweden (), formerly the Swedish Asatro Community (''Sveriges Asatrosamfund'') is a heathen (Germanic neopagan) organization founded in 1994. History The Swedish Asatro Community () was founded in 1994 as an outgrowt ...

(''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 The Nordic Asa-Community (; abbreviated NAS) is a Germanic heathen religious organisation founded in Sweden in 2014. Since 2016, it has been the largest heathen organisation in the country. History The Nordic Asa-Community (NAS) was founded in ...

, 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 (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

, 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

("Community for Nordic Sed").

Iceland

Ásatrúarfélagið (, ''Ásatrú Fellowship''), also known simply as , is an Icelandic religious organisation of Heathenry (new religious movement), heathenry (in Iceland also called , " faith"). It was founded on the first day of summer (Iceland), first day of s ...

was recognized as a religious organization by the

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic government in 1973. Its first leader was farmer and poet

Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson (4 July 1924 – 23 December 1993) was an Icelandic religious leader and singer of rímur who was instrumental in gaining the Icelandic government's recognition of pre-Christian Heathenry (new religious movement), Hea ...

. 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 '.

References

{{Religion in Iceland

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