Ásatrúarfélagið
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| Formation | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Type | Ásatrú, Icelandic folk faith |
| Location | |
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Membership
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3332 |
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Founder
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Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson |
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Key people
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Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Jóhanna G. Harðardóttir, Kári Pálsson |
| Website | http://www.asatru.is/ |
The Ásatrúarfélagið (English: Ásatrú Fellowship) is an Icelandic religious association of the Germanic folk religion (Ásatrú, "faith of the Æsir") with the purpose of promoting and continuing Norse paganism. It was founded on the First Day of Summer, 1972, and granted recognition as a registered religious organization in 1973, allowing it to conduct legally binding ceremonies and collect a share of the church tax.
The organization was led by farmer and poet Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson from 1972 until his death in 1993. During most of this period membership did not exceed 100 people and after the initial enthusiasm faded, there was little activity. The time of the next high priest, Jörmundur Ingi Hansen (1994–2002), saw considerable growth and activity, including the design of an Ásatrú burial ground. These trends have continued under the present high priest, musician Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (2003-), and as of 2016 the organization has 3187 registered members, about one third of whom are women. In the beginning of 2015, members were 2675 which means that during one year, the count of members grew by 512 (19%), a faster growth than the Ásatrú society had ever experienced before.
Ásatrúarfélagið does not have a fixed religious dogma or theology but the high priests have tended towards a pantheistic worldview. The central ritual is the communal blót feast but the priests (goðar) also conduct name-giving ceremonies, coming of age rituals, weddings and funerals. The organization has on some occasions taken a stance on political issues, including abortion rights, gay marriage, the separation of church and state, and environmental issues. The organisation is a founding member of the European Congress of Ethnic Religions.
The idea to found a folk religious organization came about in late winter 1972 in discussions in a café in Reykjavík. The four men who would become the organization's early leaders and ideologues were Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson, a farmer and a traditionalist poet, Jörmundur Ingi Hansen, a jack of all trades and a prominent person in the Reykjavík hippie movement, Dagur Þorleifsson, a journalist and active member of the Reykjavík theosophy lodge, and Þorsteinn Guðjónsson, leader of Félag Nýalssinna, an organization devoted to the theories of Helgi Pjeturss.
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