Why Loki, Thor And Other Norse Gods Are Making A Comeback
Over 1,000 years ago, Norse gods like Odin, Loki, Thor and Freya were worshipped across Scandinavia. Now there are indications that Norse Paganism is becoming a significant force once again. The number of believers is steadily rising, with new temples and dedicated cemeteries appearing.
In the town of Mokam, Sweden, the Nordic Asa-Community plans to open the first Swedish pagan burial ground in a millennium this year. Permission for the burial ground was officially granted in 2025, and work is now underway on its construction.
Located next to a Christian cemetery, it will consist of three grass mounds shaped like buried ships. Anecdotal reports indicate that around 50 people have already asked to be buried there.
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The Nordic Asa-Community has also announced plans for the creation of Sweden’s first pagan temple in centuries. Known as the Asa-Centre, it will be a place where members of the pagan community can meet and practice their religion.
A GoFundMe page focusing on the building of the Swedish Asa-Centre is seeking to raise two million Swedish Kroner ($226,000) for the project. Currently, they’ve raised about 11% of the total.
Land has already been granted for the project near Uppsala. This is a significant location since it was known to be a key center for Norse paganism during the Viking Age. According to the GoFundMe page, the group aims to build a new Asa-Centre that would be home to a temple and administrative offices, but if they can’t raise the total amount, then the money raised would be used to buy or restore an existing building for use as a temple.
These announcements mark the latest manifestation of the growth of pagan beliefs in Sweden. Nordic Asa-Community is just one of the country’s registered pagan religious organizations. In addition to various local groups, the Forn Sed Assembly was registered in 2007, having previously been known as the Swedish Asatru Community, founded in 1994.
Forn Sed state that it aims to create “a spiritual expression adapted to current society … through ceremonies, by releasing books and other printed materials, and by creating common meeting places for people with an interest in nature spirituality.”
Such groups tend to follow a polytheistic system involving the pantheon of Norse Gods as well as the spirits of nature, ancestors and the land. Their beliefs reflect public concern about the environment and climate change, along with the importance of the role of nature in human life. This is very much in tune with prevalent beliefs and concerns among Scandinavian people.
It is not easy to ascertain the exact level of interest and commitment to Norse Paganism. Little data exists. There have been unsubstantiated reports that the two largest Swedish pagan groups, Nordic Asa-Community and Forn Sed, have around 3,000 members in total.
There is evidence that similar interest exists throughout Scandinavia. In Denmark, there are reports of around 3,500 pagan believers. In 2009, a pagan cemetery opened at Odense, Funen, as part of the public Assitens Graveyard, and it contains an 20-yard long stone in the form of a Viking ship.
No headstones are used to mark the burials, but plaques are affixed to various standing stones encircling the grassy area. In 2016, a wooden Valheim Hof temple dedicated to Odin was opened. It was modeled on excavations of the 7th century Uppakra temple. During the opening ceremony, the speaker of the Danish House of Parliament cut the ribbon, while the Danish Minister for Integration performed the naming ceremony.
By far the most notable appearance of Norse Paganism has been in Iceland, where it has become the second most practiced religions. The Iceland Review states that, according to Statistics Iceland, there are 5,435 registered members of Asatruarfelagio (Association of the Faith of the Aesir), a name which is often shortened to Asatru.
Founded in 1972 and legally recognized a year later, Asatruarfelagio has become the largest non-Christian faith in Iceland. Although there are no fixed beliefs, Asatru basically combines Norse mythology with ecological awareness and the need to respect and live in harmony with nature.
Reykjavik donated a site for an Asatru temple on a hill overlooking the city. Partly made from Icelandic timber, it is hewn from the rock with worshippers descending down into the underground room, which has a capacity for 250 people. Costing around $1 million, the building was partially funded by the government via a religious tax paid by Icelanders, which is then distributed to all the different faith groups. Work is now underway on raising funds for a second temple known as Hof, which will be located in Eastern Iceland.
These temples act as centers for worship, lectures and community life, such as the open house meetings to which anyone is welcome. It also hosts weddings, name-giving ceremonies and funerals. Special celebrations are held six times a year, such as Pinblot (June) and Jolablot (December), marking the changing seasons. These ceremonies involve lots of open-air activities, readings from the Sagas of Iceland, as well as feasting.
Finland is proving an exception to this rise in Norse paganism, as prior to the arrival of Christianity, it had a different form of polytheistic religion involving gods such as Ukko, Jumala and Tapio, with its own mythology, many of which were set down in the nineteenth-century book, Kalevala.
This native culture is regaining attention among Finnish people with organizations such as Taivannaula, dedicated to preserving and fostering these beliefs, combined with traditional spirituality, nature and way of life reflecting the cycle of nature.
Angela Youngman is a freelance journalist who has written for a wide range of British and international publications.