Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Religion in Iceland


Hi there! It's me, Svana, again. Here in Iceland, the Lutheran denomination is the most prominent denomination. However, that has not always been the case. When our country was settled, our largest religion was Norse paganism. It was rather prominent in Germanic tribes in the Nordic countries. What, you may ask, are the Nordic Countries? Well, they include Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. In addition, there are also the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Aland. Last but not least, there is Iceland. Another name for this collection of countries and islands is Scandinavia. One bonus fact that I have found is that the three largest languages for that region were Indo-European, Baltic-Finnic, and Sami. Norse paganism is somewhat like a branch of Germanic paganism. Although I have been a Baptist all of my life, I still enjoy learning about all of the various prominent religions in my country. Although Norse paganism was the main religion for many years, Christianity later began to grow through Pietism. It is now the main religion in Iceland. It's getting late, so I'll talk to you later! (Bye the way, the picture is of a traditional Icelandic church.)

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