Abstracts Category : Other

"...and we have forgotten who we are" Rituality in the Modern Religion of Forn Sir. Asa- og vanetrosamfundet i Denmark and the Question of Reinvention or Recreation of Religion and Culture

by Katharina-Lorraine 1990- Malchow-Roth

In contemporary pagan religions, such as satru (IS) or Forn Sir (DK), it has long been discussed whether ritualistic behaviour and ritualistic symbols survived from an earlier religion, often described as the religion of the Vikings or mythology of the Vikings. Another debate is about the purpose of the social function of these rituals Both debates are active in scholarship but pay little attention to the modern Norse religious groups, like satr or Forn Sir. Contemporary religions such as Forn Sir have notably increasing numbers of members, yet research is controversial and the groups are lacking in continuity.In order to decrease the controversy around the modern pagan religion(s), a close examination of these has to be undertaken and therefore this work will investigate the social aspects of rituality of the Forn Sir in Denmark, which is the biggest group of modern heathenries in central Europe. The research is directed towards the most essential elements of religion, rituals.The research question therefore is whether rituals in the Forn Sir (DK) group can be understood under the same aspects of rituals introduced by Catherine Bell (1997) or not. Another aspect of the investigation includes the social structures and origin of rituals. The scholarship, of Catherine Bell for example, describes how to determine the value of rituality in social structures, or how rituals have influenced changing societies within generations. Stefanie von Schnurbein (1992) investigated a pagan religious group in the 1990s in Germany. Leszek Gardea (2016) approached related topics in Re-Enactment Thus far, aspects of rituality, such as social functions and identification with the Viking heritage can be found in the Forn Sir (DK). However, an investigation of funerary rituals of pagan contemporary religions is still in demand.In this thesis, use is made of empirical techniques, including interviews and online questionnaires that allow direct insight into the perception of funerary rites, a preferable method for evaluation of direct and individual concepts of members of the religious group. Catherine Bells aspects of rituality will be the basis to investigate the parallels and differences of rituality in funerals of Forn Sidr (DK). The conclusion draws directlinks to the rituality of contemporary pagan religion(s) and shows parallels to other major religions and therefore a closer investigation overall should be considered.