Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið

The Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið "Icelandic fellowship of Æsir faith (Ásatrú)" is an Icelandic neopagan new religious movement with the purpose of reviving the pre-Christianization religion of Scandinavia. It was founded on the summer solstice, 1972, and was recognized as an official religion by the Icelandic government in 1973, largely due to the efforts of Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson.

As of 2006, the Ásatrúarfélagið has roughly 1000 members, referred to as Ásatrúarmenn.

Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson acted as allsherjargoði from 1972 until his death in December 1993. He was succeeded by:

• Jörmundur Ingi Hansen (born 1940), 1994–2002;
• Jónína Kristín Berg (born 1962), acting steward 2002–2003;
• Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (born 1958), 2003 to present.

According to religious studies scholar Michael Strmiska, "the surviving texts and other related materials concerning the original Norse Pagan religion are too fragmentary and incomplete to provide a definitive basis for all Ásatrú rituals and pursuits, and must be judiciously supplemented by ideas and practices improvised in the present or borrowed from other sources.

See also

• Guðrún Kristín Magnúsdóttir
• Haukur Halldórsson
• Norse paganism

External links

• http://www.asatru.is/
• http://www.mmedia.is/odsmal/
• interview with Jörmundur Ingi Hansen
• Asatru in Iceland (CityTV)

References