What is the worldview in Iceland like?
Iceland has a wonderful, blended worldview of
both spiritual and religious practices. Christianity practices are the main
religion that we see here in Iceland, with 68.13% of the population belonging
to Christian denominations according to Statistics Iceland. 57.23% of the population
belonging to The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, with another 5.28%
belonging to other minor Lutheran churches.
According
to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, they state the following about
their core assumptions, cultural expressions, and their practicing ethics:
o
“The
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland is grounded in the Scriptures and in
five confessions of faith: the Apostles ’Creed, the Nicene Creed, the
Athanasian Creed, the Augsburg Confession and Luther’s Small Catechism. The
Church understands itself as part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic
Church… The Church of Iceland understands itself as a folk church, rooted in
the everyday life of the nation and present in towns, villages and rural areas
alike. Its role as a national church is reflected both in its historical
responsibility for spiritual care and in its engagement with the social and
ethical issues of the time.”
For their
ideas about death, I looked into what a church funeral is like. The Lutheran
Church of Denmark gave me a good idea, as they practice the same as those in
Iceland. They state:
o
“A
funeral in the Evangelical Lutheran Church is a rite where we take leave of the
deceased and listen to the Christian message of resurrection, hope and comfort.
The hymns that we sing give us images to describe resurrection and eternal
life. The prayers that we pray express our grief, our loss and the Christian
hope. … At a burial the service ends with casting earth on the grave in the
churchyard. … The pastor throws earth on the coffin three times, addressing the
deceased with the words: "from dust you have come. To dust you shall
return. From dust you shall rise again." These three handfuls of earth symbolize
the movement life – death – life. The funeral rite reminds us of the promise we
received when we were baptized: That God is with us in life, in death and in
eternity.”
Huldufólk and other folklore
beliefs
Another
worldview that we see in Iceland is the large presence of folklore that the
population believe in and cultivate. Evaneos helped me look into this more,
where they mention,
o
“But
the belief which is especially present in Iceland, although it's not considered
as a religion, is that of the presence of a Huldufólk, which means a 'hidden
people'. Actually
there are several Icelandic people who believe in invisible and marvellous
people, and believe in the presence of trolls and elves in the country.”
o
*
please note that the misspellings are how the author(s) spelled these words!
The belief
in elves is quite common among Icelanders, with many superstitions surrounding
them. They say that elves are highly protective of their homes, and will cause
harm to anyone who dares to disrupt them. It is not unheard of that plans are
altered to avoid causing any damage to rocks or cliffs that are said to home
these hidden people/elves. There is actually a great example of this in the
town of Kopavogur, there is a hill known as Álfhóll, or "elf hill".
There have been many attempts to build a road through this hill since the
1940s, but all have mysteriously failed. Now, there is just a road that curves
around this hill, as 3 attempts failed, either due to funding loss or equipment
damage. Looks like the elves won with this one!
Overall in
Iceland, there seems to be an embrace among those who practice different in
religious ways, as many of them are Christianity-based religions, so many tend
to have similar ways in believing. While there is a large population of
approximately 20% of those stating they are not apart of a religious faction,
there does not seem to be any form of hate or conflict regarding this. All or
nearly all Icelanders do seem to have a strong belief about the folklore of
their land, like the elves I just mentioned, which seems to be what many people
hold true.
References and Sources
https://www.kirkjan.is/kirkjan/kristin-tru/jatningar-baenir-og-textar-kirkjunnar
https://www.evaneos.com/iceland/holidays/essential-information/6119-religion-in-iceland/