Religion in Iceland
Encyclopedia
Religion in Iceland was initially the Norse paganism
that was a common belief among mediaeval Scandinavians
until Christian conversion
. 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, Baptist
, Catholic
, Jehovah's Witness
, Bahá'í
, neopagan
, Mormon
, Muslim
and other faiths exist.
, Iceland adopted Lutheranism
in place of its earlier Roman Catholicism. Two local men, Oddur Gottskálksson
and Gissur Einarsson
, became disciples of Martin Luther
and soon secured followers, particularly after King Christian III of Denmark and Norway declared himself for Lutheranism and began to enforce the change in his kingdom.
The Reformation proved to be more violent in Iceland than in most of the lands ruled by Denmark
, partly from Arason's proto-nationalistic resistance, which escalated nearly to the point of civil war. Jón Arason
and Ögmundur Pálsson, the Catholic bishops of Skálholt and Hólar respectively, opposed Christian's efforts at promoting the Reformation in Iceland. Ögmundur was deported by Danish officials in 1541, but Arason decided to fight. Opposition to the Reformation effectively ended in 1550 when Arason was captured after being defeated in the Battle of Sauðafell
by loyalist forces under Daði Guðmundsson. Arason and his two sons were subsequently beheaded in Skálholt on November 7, 1550.
With Lutheranism firmly in place, Catholicism was outlawed, and Catholic church property was assumed by Iceland's rulers. Though Latin
remained the official language of the Lutheran Church of Iceland
until 1686, and a good part of the former Catholic terminology and other externals were retained, the Lutheran church differed considerably in doctrine. Those Catholics who refused to convert eventually fled, generally to Scotland
. No Catholic priest was permitted to set foot on Icelandic soil for more than three centuries.
The Catholic Church resumed missionnary activities in Iceland from the 1850s, and today about 5,500 Icelanders belong to that faith.
As in the other Nordic countries, church attendance is relatively low; only 10% of Icelanders go to church once a month or more frequently, 43% say that they never attend church and 15.9% say they attend church once a year.
When asked to select a statement that best represented their opinion, 39.4% of Icelanders said they believe in the existence of a benevolent god to whom one can pray; 19.2% said that God must exist or else life would be meaningless; 19.7% said that it is impossible to know whether or not God exists; 26.2% said that no god exists; 9.45% said that God created the universe and presided over it; and 9.7 % said that none of the aforementioned statements represented their opinion.
which represents 79.1% of the population (2008). The Church of Iceland is also the State Church
, but religious freedom is practiced. There are several "free Lutheran" churches as well which total 4.9% of the population. In recent years, there has been an increase in the proportion linked to the free Lutheran churches. In total, some 90% of the population are registered as some form of Lutheran. However, these statistics are by some considered misleading since most people are automatically registered as members of the Church of Iceland. Estimates indicate that 11% of the population attend religious service regularly and 44% never attend.
with Pierre Bürcher
as Bishop. It is estimated that half of the nation's Catholics are foreign born with the main groups being Filipinos and Poles. However, even if they are excluded, Catholics are still about 1% of native Icelanders, a figure higher than for all other Scandinavian ethnicities (unless Scandinavian-Americans are considered).
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 resolutely Catholic writer in Icelandic was Jón Sveinsson
. He moved to France at 13 and became a Jesuit, remaining in Society of Jesus for the rest of his life. He was well liked as a children's book author (writing in German) and even appeared on postage stamps.
, Akureyri
and the capital. A website, Gospel Iceland a site in Icelandic, also exists for the movement in Iceland.
Church is in an unusual position in Iceland. Although significant as a world faith (with 80 million members), it has a limited presence in Iceland, and its future expansion may be limited by its entering into an "agreement of full communion" with the Lutheran Church of Iceland, known as the Porvoo agreement
. Thus, Anglicans may effectively consider themselves to be Lutheran whilst in Iceland, and the two bodies have a full inter-recognition of each other's faith and practice, sacramental life, and ministry. Nonetheless, a single Anglican congregation meets monthly in Reykjavik, using the Lutheran Hallgrímskirkja
church building to worship in the English language according to the rites of the Church of England
.
.
As of January 1, 2009 Iceland had 241 LDS members in 2 branches (Reykjavik and Selfoss). A family history center for the church is also located in the Reykjavik meetinghouse.
In 2001 Missionaries Jeremy Gresham and Ben Wharton began laboring to see a Baptist Church started in the Reykjavik area, a population base of 200,000 which is one-third of Iceland's population. The Church has grown over the years and is now registered with the Icelandic government as Emmanúels Baptistakirjan (The Emmanuel Baptist Church). Missionary Robert Hansen is currently pastoring the church. The Emmanuel Baptist Church offers a variety of Bible studies and outreaches in Icelandic and English as well as their scheduled weekly services.
Johnny G. Wright (served in Iceland 1989 - 2006)was the first pastor of the First Baptist Church upon its formal registration in 1994. Michelle Harrison is a Baptist Bible Fellowship (BBF) missionary serving with the First Baptist Church. The Baptist Church building is located on the southern peninsula of Iceland in Njarðvík, where some 25,000 people live. Weekly attendance (75% of which is youth) is usually 80–120 people (despite only 30 being registered).
, the organization has 348 members in Iceland, in five congregations. The National Registry (see below) estimates them at twice that number, based on self-identification.
Eastern Orthodoxy, especially Serbian
and Russian
, has a small presence on the island. Various other Christian denominations are represented with fewer than 1,000 registered adherents.
of Norse paganism
in Iceland. As of 2009, Ásatrúarfélagið had 1395 registered members, corresponding to 0.4% of the total population.
in Iceland (Icelandic Bahá'í samfélagið á Íslandi) began when American Amelia Collins
visited in 1924 and the first Icelandic Bahá'í was Holmfridur Arnadottir. The religion was recognized by the government in 1966 and the first Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly was elected in 1972. Currently around 400 Bahá'ís in the country governed by 8 Local Spiritual Assemblies. The number of assemblies is the highest percentage, by population, in all of Europe, Danish scholar of religion Margit Warburg speculates that the Icelandic people are culturally more open to religious innovation.
, but there is a small number of Kosovar
Muslim refugees in Dalvík
.
There was no significant Jewish population or emigration to Iceland until the twentieth century, though some Jewish merchants lived in Iceland temporarily at times during the nineteenth century. Icelanders' attitude toward the Jews has ranged from sympathy for their plight to blaming them for "Bolshevism", among other things. Although most Icelanders deplored their persecution, they usually refused entry to Jews who were fleeing Nazi Germany, so the Jewish population did not rise much during the Second World War.
Today the Jews remain a minor element of Iceland. Up to 60 people do attend occasional Jewish holiday parties or lectures by Jewish immigrants, but this does not necessarily reflect the actual Jewish population. In 2011 A communal Passover Seder, And High Holiday Services were held in Reykjavik. The World Jewish Congress
had no figures for Iceland in 1998, suggesting that the numbers are under 120 (and likely well under that figure). The web site for the Catholic diocese indicated there are only 30 Jewish people in Iceland, However when Chabad Rabbi's conducted a search for Icelandic Jews, they came in contact with over 100 Jewish people living in Iceland. Still, it seems that, save for the European micro-states, Iceland might have the lowest Jewish population of any European nation.
Despite the small population, the First Lady of Iceland
, Dorrit Moussaieff
, is a Bukharian Jew and is likely the most significant Jewish woman in Icelandic history. Moussaief was born in Israel
and carries both Israeli and Icelandic citizenship. She still follows some aspects of Judaism
– lighting, for example, the first candle of the menorah on the eve of Hannukkah and teaching her husband about the holiday. She has introduced Jewish culture to the country in a positive way in order to counter anti-Semitism.
study Social Values, Science and Technology. 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 the Scandinavia
n countries. The plurality (and near majority) of Icelanders express a belief in a "spirit or life force" rather than in God or a generalized disbelief.
Siðmennt is the largest organization promoting secularism
in Iceland. It is similar to the Human-Etisk Forbund
in Norway, although it only claims a membership of "well over 200" members (0.06% of the Icelandic population), a far lower proportion of the nation than the Norwegian organization. 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 state (previously it was earmarked for the University of Iceland
).
There are other Icelandic institutions for the secular branches within society, such as the SAMT or Samfélag trúlausra. Vantrú is a vocal association of atheists
that criticizes all things supernatural.
2005,
Norse paganism
Norse paganism is the religious traditions of the Norsemen, a Germanic people living in the Nordic countries. Norse paganism is therefore a subset of Germanic paganism, which was practiced in the lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes across most of Northern and Central Europe in the Viking Age...
that was a common belief among mediaeval Scandinavians
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
until Christian conversion
Christianization of Scandinavia
The Christianization of Scandinavia took place between the 8th and the 12th century. The realms of Scandinavia proper, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, established their own Archdioceses, responsible directly to the Pope, in 1104, 1154 and 1164, respectively...
. Later, the nation became half-Christian and then more fully Christian. This increasing Christianization
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
culminated in the Pietism
Pietism
Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...
period when non-Christian entertainments were discouraged. At present, the population is overwhelmingly, if nominally, Lutheran. However, Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
, Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, Jehovah's Witness
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, Bahá'í
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
, neopagan
Germanic neopaganism
Germanic neopaganism is the contemporary revival of historical Germanic paganism. Precursor movements appeared in the early 20th century in Germany and Austria. A second wave of revival began in the early 1970s...
, Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
, Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
and other faiths exist.
The Reformation
During the ReformationProtestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, Iceland adopted Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
in place of its earlier Roman Catholicism. Two local men, Oddur Gottskálksson
Oddur Gottskálksson
Oddur Gottskálksson was the translator of the first book printed in Icelandic, the New Testament. His translation was based in part on an older translation by Jón Arason, and printed in Roskilde, Denmark....
and Gissur Einarsson
Gissur Einarsson
Gissur Einarsson was a bishop in Skálholt from 1540 to his death, and the first Lutheran bishop in Iceland.Gissur was the son of Einar Sigvaldason on Hraun í Landbroti and of Gunnhildur Jónsdóttir. He attended Skálholt's school where he was instructed by bishop Ögmundur Pálsson and went to study...
, became disciples of Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
and soon secured followers, particularly after King Christian III of Denmark and Norway declared himself for Lutheranism and began to enforce the change in his kingdom.
The Reformation proved to be more violent in Iceland than in most of the lands ruled by Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, partly from Arason's proto-nationalistic resistance, which escalated nearly to the point of civil war. Jón Arason
Jón Arason
Jón Arason was an Icelandic Roman Catholic bishop and poet, who was executed in his struggle against the imposition of the Protestant Reform in Iceland.-Background:...
and Ögmundur Pálsson, the Catholic bishops of Skálholt and Hólar respectively, opposed Christian's efforts at promoting the Reformation in Iceland. Ögmundur was deported by Danish officials in 1541, but Arason decided to fight. Opposition to the Reformation effectively ended in 1550 when Arason was captured after being defeated in the Battle of Sauðafell
Battle of Sauðafell
The Battle of Sauðafell occurred in 1550, when the forces of Bishop Jón Arason clashed with the forces of Daði Guðmundsson of Snóksdalur.-Location:...
by loyalist forces under Daði Guðmundsson. Arason and his two sons were subsequently beheaded in Skálholt on November 7, 1550.
With Lutheranism firmly in place, Catholicism was outlawed, and Catholic church property was assumed by Iceland's rulers. Though Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
remained the official language of the Lutheran Church of Iceland
Church of Iceland
The National Church of Iceland, or Þjóðkirkjan, formally called the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, is the state church in Iceland. Like the established churches in the other Nordic countries, the National Church of Iceland professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity. Its head is the...
until 1686, and a good part of the former Catholic terminology and other externals were retained, the Lutheran church differed considerably in doctrine. Those Catholics who refused to convert eventually fled, generally to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. No Catholic priest was permitted to set foot on Icelandic soil for more than three centuries.
The Catholic Church resumed missionnary activities in Iceland from the 1850s, and today about 5,500 Icelanders belong to that faith.
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. This led to encouraging a certain dourness to Iceland by discouraging dancing or other entertainment.Modern Iceland
About 283,000 Icelanders (89.3% of the population) are members of Christian congregations, of which most (251.331 people or 79.1%) are members of the Church of Iceland. According to a 2004 survey 69.3% of the total population claimed to be "religious," whereas 19.1 per cent said they were "not religious" and 11.6 per cent were unable to state whether or not they were religious. Of those who said they were religious, 76.3 per cent said that they were Christian, while 22.4 per cent said that they "believed in their own way".As in the other Nordic countries, church attendance is relatively low; only 10% of Icelanders go to church once a month or more frequently, 43% say that they never attend church and 15.9% say they attend church once a year.
When asked to select a statement that best represented their opinion, 39.4% of Icelanders said they believe in the existence of a benevolent god to whom one can pray; 19.2% said that God must exist or else life would be meaningless; 19.7% said that it is impossible to know whether or not God exists; 26.2% said that no god exists; 9.45% said that God created the universe and presided over it; and 9.7 % said that none of the aforementioned statements represented their opinion.
Christian
Officially, the nation is religiously homogenous. Nearly all Icelandic religious followers are Christian, and vast majority of these are Lutheran. Church attendance, however, remains low. At birth each child is automatically entered into the religious group the mother belongs to.Lutherans
Official statistics place Iceland as overwhelmingly Lutheran. The main church is the Church of IcelandChurch of Iceland
The National Church of Iceland, or Þjóðkirkjan, formally called the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, is the state church in Iceland. Like the established churches in the other Nordic countries, the National Church of Iceland professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity. Its head is the...
which represents 79.1% of the population (2008). The Church of Iceland is also the State Church
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
, but religious freedom is practiced. There are several "free Lutheran" churches as well which total 4.9% of the population. In recent years, there has been an increase in the proportion linked to the free Lutheran churches. In total, some 90% of the population are registered as some form of Lutheran. However, these statistics are by some considered misleading since most people are automatically registered as members of the Church of Iceland. Estimates indicate that 11% of the population attend religious service regularly and 44% never attend.
Catholics
Roman Catholicism is the largest non-Lutheran faith in Iceland, though remains practiced by a small minority (2.5% of the population). There is a Roman Catholic Diocese of ReykjavíkDiocese of Reykjavík
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavík is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church which covers the whole of the country of Iceland, which had 10,207 Catholics on January 1, 2011...
with Pierre Bürcher
Pierre Bürcher
Pierre Bürcher is a Swiss prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, currently serving as bishop of Diocese of Reykjavík, Iceland....
as Bishop. It is estimated that half of the nation's Catholics are foreign born with the main groups being Filipinos and Poles. However, even if they are excluded, Catholics are still about 1% of native Icelanders, a figure higher than for all other Scandinavian ethnicities (unless Scandinavian-Americans are considered).
In the twentieth century, Iceland had some notable, if at times temporary, converts to the faith. For a time Halldór Laxness
Halldór Laxness
Halldór Kiljan Laxness was a twentieth-century Icelandic writer. Throughout his career Laxness wrote poetry, newspaper articles, plays, travelogues, short stories, and novels...
was Catholic. Although this did not last, his Catholic period is of importance due to his position in modern Icelandic literature. A more resolutely Catholic writer in Icelandic was Jón Sveinsson
Jón Sveinsson
Jón "Nonni" Stefán Sveinsson was an Icelandic children's writer and member of the Society of Jesus....
. He moved to France at 13 and became a Jesuit, remaining in Society of Jesus for the rest of his life. He was well liked as a children's book author (writing in German) and even appeared on postage stamps.
Pentecostals
The Pentecostals are the third largest religious group in Iceland. There are Pentecostal churches in KeflavíkKeflavík
Keflavík is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. In 2009 its population was of 8,169.In 1995 it merged with Njarðvík and Hafnir to form a municipality called Reykjanesbær with a population of 13,971 .- History :...
, Akureyri
Akureyri
Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality ....
and the capital. A website, Gospel Iceland a site in Icelandic, also exists for the movement in Iceland.
Anglicans
The AnglicanAnglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
Church is in an unusual position in Iceland. Although significant as a world faith (with 80 million members), it has a limited presence in Iceland, and its future expansion may be limited by its entering into an "agreement of full communion" with the Lutheran Church of Iceland, known as the Porvoo agreement
Porvoo Communion
The Porvoo Communion is a communion of 12 mainly northern European Anglican and Lutheran churches. It was established in 1992 by an agreement entitled the Porvoo Common Statement which establishes full communion between and among the churches...
. Thus, Anglicans may effectively consider themselves to be Lutheran whilst in Iceland, and the two bodies have a full inter-recognition of each other's faith and practice, sacramental life, and ministry. Nonetheless, a single Anglican congregation meets monthly in Reykjavik, using the Lutheran Hallgrímskirkja
Hallgrímskirkja
The Hallgrímskirkja is a Lutheran parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland. At 74.5 metres , it is the largest church in Iceland and the sixth tallest architectural structure in Iceland after Longwave radio mast Hellissandur, the radio masts of US Navy at Grindavík, Eiðar longwave transmitter and...
church building to worship in the English language according to the rites of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
.
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. 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 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, UtahSpanish Fork, Utah
Spanish Fork is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 31,497 as of the 2008 census estimate.-History:Spanish Fork was settled by LDS pioneers in 1851...
.
As of January 1, 2009 Iceland had 241 LDS members in 2 branches (Reykjavik and Selfoss). A family history center for the church is also located in the Reykjavik meetinghouse.
Independent Baptists
Iceland's history has no record of Baptists establishing a church in Iceland until the 1980s, though not formally recognized in the Icelandic registry until 1994. Since the early 1900s fewer than 10 missionary families have attempted to start a church in Iceland. According to the national registry of Iceland, there are two Baptist Churches: Fyrsta Baptista Kirkjan (The First Baptist Church) and Emmanúels Baptistakirkjan (The Emmanuel Baptist Church). The First Baptist Church is a Christian church that claims to follow the teachings of the Bible. It holds separate services in both Icelandic and English. Since 1999, the Pastor Patrick Weimer (BMFP Missionary family) and his wife Vicki established a church (registered as the Baptistakirkjan á Suðurnesjum) to the Icelandic speaking nationals and later merged with the English speaking church in 2006 when the military base closed. The pastor and his wife are now dual citizens having Icelandic citizenship and have taken Icelandic names; Registered as: Viktoría Karlsdóttir and Patrekur Vilhjálmsson.In 2001 Missionaries Jeremy Gresham and Ben Wharton began laboring to see a Baptist Church started in the Reykjavik area, a population base of 200,000 which is one-third of Iceland's population. The Church has grown over the years and is now registered with the Icelandic government as Emmanúels Baptistakirjan (The Emmanuel Baptist Church). Missionary Robert Hansen is currently pastoring the church. The Emmanuel Baptist Church offers a variety of Bible studies and outreaches in Icelandic and English as well as their scheduled weekly services.
Johnny G. Wright (served in Iceland 1989 - 2006)was the first pastor of the First Baptist Church upon its formal registration in 1994. Michelle Harrison is a Baptist Bible Fellowship (BBF) missionary serving with the First Baptist Church. The Baptist Church building is located on the southern peninsula of Iceland in Njarðvík, where some 25,000 people live. Weekly attendance (75% of which is youth) is usually 80–120 people (despite only 30 being registered).
Other Christian
According to Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, the organization has 348 members in Iceland, in five congregations. The National Registry (see below) estimates them at twice that number, based on self-identification.
Eastern Orthodoxy, especially Serbian
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
and Russian
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, has a small presence on the island. Various other Christian denominations are represented with fewer than 1,000 registered adherents.
Non-Christian
A small minority practice a variety of non-Christian faiths, whose total numbers account for about one percent of the population.Paganism
From the 1970s, there has been a revivalGermanic neopaganism
Germanic neopaganism is the contemporary revival of historical Germanic paganism. Precursor movements appeared in the early 20th century in Germany and Austria. A second wave of revival began in the early 1970s...
of Norse paganism
Norse paganism
Norse paganism is the religious traditions of the Norsemen, a Germanic people living in the Nordic countries. Norse paganism is therefore a subset of Germanic paganism, which was practiced in the lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes across most of Northern and Central Europe in the Viking Age...
in Iceland. As of 2009, Ásatrúarfélagið had 1395 registered members, corresponding to 0.4% of the total population.
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í FaithBahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
in Iceland (Icelandic Bahá'í samfélagið á Íslandi) began when American Amelia Collins
Amelia Collins
Amelia Engelder Collins was a prominent American Bahá'í from the Lutheran family. She became Bahá'í in 1919. She made large donations to several Bahá'í projects in Haifa, Israel, like the building of the Western Pilgrim House, the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb the International Archives...
visited in 1924 and the first Icelandic Bahá'í was Holmfridur Arnadottir. The religion was recognized by the government in 1966 and the first Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly was elected in 1972. Currently around 400 Bahá'ís in the country governed by 8 Local Spiritual Assemblies. The number of assemblies is the highest percentage, by population, in all of Europe, Danish scholar of religion Margit Warburg speculates that the Icelandic people are culturally more open to religious innovation.
Buddhism
Buddhism in Iceland has existed since late ´70s when the first Icelandic member of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) returned home from England, where she'd been introduced to the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin. On 17 June 1980 SGI-Iceland was officially formed and since then the Icelandic branch of SGI has grown to almost 200 members. In the 1990s more sects of Buddhism found their way to Iceland through immigrants from Thailand for the most part. As of 2009, there are three Buddhist organizations in Iceland officially recognized as religious organizations by the Icelandic government. Collectively they have 1082 members.Islam
Iceland has 371 members of The Association of Muslims in Iceland (2009). Most of the nation's Muslims live in or near ReykjavíkReykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, but there is a small number of Kosovar
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
Muslim refugees in Dalvík
Dalvík
Dalvíkurbyggð is a municipality in the north of Iceland.The population of the municipality is about 2,000- History :The municipality of Dalvíkurbyggð was formed in 1998 by the merger of three districts of outer Eyjafjörður: the town of Dalvík and the rural districts of Svarfaðardalur and Árskógur...
.
Judaism
The number of Jews is estimated to be about 100 members. The Jewish population is small enough that it has not registered and is listed as unspecified/other groups. There is no synagogue or prayer house.There was no significant Jewish population or emigration to Iceland until the twentieth century, though some Jewish merchants lived in Iceland temporarily at times during the nineteenth century. Icelanders' attitude toward the Jews has ranged from sympathy for their plight to blaming them for "Bolshevism", among other things. Although most Icelanders deplored their persecution, they usually refused entry to Jews who were fleeing Nazi Germany, so the Jewish population did not rise much during the Second World War.
Today the Jews remain a minor element of Iceland. Up to 60 people do attend occasional Jewish holiday parties or lectures by Jewish immigrants, but this does not necessarily reflect the actual Jewish population. In 2011 A communal Passover Seder, And High Holiday Services were held in Reykjavik. The World Jewish Congress
World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations...
had no figures for Iceland in 1998, suggesting that the numbers are under 120 (and likely well under that figure). The web site for the Catholic diocese indicated there are only 30 Jewish people in Iceland, However when Chabad Rabbi's conducted a search for Icelandic Jews, they came in contact with over 100 Jewish people living in Iceland. Still, it seems that, save for the European micro-states, Iceland might have the lowest Jewish population of any European nation.
Despite the small population, the First Lady of Iceland
First Lady of Iceland
Wives and husbands of the presidents:*Georgia Björnsson wife of Sveinn Björnsson*Dóra Þórhallsdóttir wife of Ásgeir Ásgeirsson*Halldóra Eldjárn wife of Kristján Eldjárn*Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was not married...
, Dorrit Moussaieff
Dorrit Moussaieff
Dorrit Moussaieff is an Israeli-born British jewellery designer, editor and businesswoman. She is the First Lady of Iceland, married to Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, president of Iceland.-Biography:...
, is a Bukharian Jew and is likely the most significant Jewish woman in Icelandic history. Moussaief was born in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and carries both Israeli and Icelandic citizenship. She still follows some aspects of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
– lighting, for example, the first candle of the menorah on the eve of Hannukkah and teaching her husband about the holiday. She has introduced Jewish culture to the country in a positive way in order to counter anti-Semitism.
Non-religion or secularism
Eleven percent of Icelanders "don't believe in any sort of spirit, God, or life force", according to a 2004 EurobarometerEurobarometer
Eurobarometer is a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission since 1973. It produces reports of public opinion of certain issues relating to the European Union across the member states...
study Social Values, Science and Technology. 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 the Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n countries. The plurality (and near majority) of Icelanders express a belief in a "spirit or life force" rather than in God or a generalized disbelief.
Siðmennt is the largest organization promoting secularism
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
in Iceland. It is similar to the Human-Etisk Forbund
Human-Etisk Forbund
The Norwegian Humanist Association is currently one of the largest Humanist associations in the world, with 82,890 members. In relation to the size of the national population , it is by far the largest such association per capita.Founded in 1956, the HEF is a member of the International Humanist...
in Norway, although it only claims a membership of "well over 200" members (0.06% of the Icelandic population), a far lower proportion of the nation than the Norwegian organization. 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 state (previously it was earmarked for the University of Iceland
University of Iceland
The University of Iceland is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland, and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' school to a modern comprehensive university, providing instruction for about...
).
There are other Icelandic institutions for the secular branches within society, such as the SAMT or Samfélag trúlausra. Vantrú is a vocal association of atheists
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
that criticizes all things supernatural.
Religious affiliation in Iceland
The table shows religious affiliation in Iceland on March 12, 2011 according to Statistics Iceland.| Religious group | number | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| Church of Iceland Church of Iceland The National Church of Iceland, or Þjóðkirkjan, formally called the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, is the state church in Iceland. Like the established churches in the other Nordic countries, the National Church of Iceland professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity. Its head is the... |
247.245 | 77.6 |
| Roman Catholic Church Roman Catholicism in Iceland The Roman Catholic Church in Iceland is part of the Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope. The current Bishop of the Diocese of Reykjavík is H.E. Msgr. Pierre Bürcher... |
10.207 | 3.2 |
| Reykjavík Free Church Reykjavík Free Church The Reykjavík Free Church is a church in the Free Lutheran congregation of Iceland. Its head priest is Hjörtur Magni Jóhannsson.... |
8.728 | 2.7 |
| Hafnarfjörður Free Church | 5.653 | 1.8 |
| Reykjavík Independent Church | 3.053 | 1.0 |
| Pentecostal Pentecostalism Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek... Church |
2.087 | 0.7 |
| Asa Faith Society | 1.700 | 0.5 |
| Buddhist Association of Iceland | 925 | 0.3 |
| Seventh-day Adventist Church Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ... |
760 | 0.2 |
| Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual... |
701 | 0.2 |
| The Way, Free Church | 658 | 0.2 |
| The Cross | 559 | 0.2 |
| Parish of St. Nicholas of the Russian Orthodox Church Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million... |
427 | 0.1 |
| Bahá'í Faith Bahá'í Faith The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories.... |
412 | 0.1 |
| Muslim Islam Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~... Association |
370 | 0.1 |
| The Icelandic Christ-Church | 294 | 0.1 |
| Cultural Association of Muslims in Iceland | 274 | 0.1 |
| Serbian Orthodox Church Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia... |
218 | 0.1 |
| Betania | 185 | 0.1 |
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | 184 | 0.1 |
| SGI in Iceland | 153 | 0.0 |
| Catch The Fire (CTF) | 134 | 0.0 |
| Kefas - Christian Community | 132 | 0.0 |
| The Church of Evangelism | 103 | 0.0 |
| Zen Zen Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen... in Iceland - Night Pasture |
85 | 0.0 |
| Sjónarhæð Congregation | 57 | 0.0 |
| The Believers' Fellowship | 34 | 0.0 |
| First Baptist Church | 30 | 0.0 |
| Church of the resurrected life | 29 | 0.0 |
| Reykjavíkurgoðorð (Asa Faith) | 22 | 0.0 |
| Family Federation for World Peace and Unification International Unification Church The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church... |
21 | 0.0 |
| Heaven on earth | 18 | 0.0 |
| Port of hope | 14 | 0.0 |
| Homechurch | 10 | 0.0 |
| Icelandic House of Prayer | 7 | 0.0 |
| Church of God Ministry of Jesus Christ International | 3 | 0.0 |
| The Rock - A Christian Community | 0 | 0.0 |
| The Word of Life | 0 | 0.0 |
| Other and not specified | 18.869 | 5.9 |
| Outside religious organizations | 14.091 | 4.4 |
Eurobarometer Poll 2005
According to the most recent Eurobarometer PollEurobarometer
Eurobarometer is a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission since 1973. It produces reports of public opinion of certain issues relating to the European Union across the member states...
2005,
- 38% of Icelandic citizens responded that "they believe there is a God".
- 48% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force".
- 11% answered that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force".
- 3% responded that they "don't know".
See also
- Christianization of ScandinaviaChristianization of ScandinaviaThe Christianization of Scandinavia took place between the 8th and the 12th century. The realms of Scandinavia proper, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, established their own Archdioceses, responsible directly to the Pope, in 1104, 1154 and 1164, respectively...
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland
- Roman Catholicism in IcelandRoman Catholicism in IcelandThe Roman Catholic Church in Iceland is part of the Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope. The current Bishop of the Diocese of Reykjavík is H.E. Msgr. Pierre Bürcher...
- Judaism in Iceland
- Islam in IcelandIslam in IcelandThe Nordic country Iceland has 644 Muslims, 404 members of "The Association of Muslims in Iceland" and 274 members of "The Muslim Culter Center of Iceland"...
- HuldufólkHuldufólkHuldufólk are elves in Icelandic folklore. Building projects in Iceland are sometimes altered to prevent damaging the rocks where they are believed to live. According to these Icelandic folk beliefs, one should never throw stones because of the possibility of hitting the huldufólk...
- Religion in EuropeReligion in EuropeReligion in Europe has been a major influence on art, culture, philosophy and law. The largest religion in Europe for at least a millennium and a half has been Christianity. Two countries in Southeastern Europe have Muslim majorities, while two more Muslim countries located mostly in Asia have...
- Religions by countryReligions by countryThis article gives an overview about religion by country. Note that the Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, will show dual figures; those are the percentage of people who believe in God and the percentage of nominal adherents who celebrate traditional religious holidays although...
Roman Catholic Church
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- LDS Newsroom (Iceland)
- LDS Church News Country Information: Iceland
- Kirkju Jesú Krists hinna Síðari daga heilögu Official LDS website in Iceland