If all goes as planned, a very, very tiny section of the ever-bloating population of the planet will actually be able to seek the blessings of Odin and Thor at a temple dedicated to the Nordic gods. And this special temple will be located in Iceland.
Of course, the Thor in the temple will be a far cry from the all-muscular dude portrayed by Chris Hemsworth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Nor will Odin look anything like Sir Anthony Hopkins from the movies.
According to a Business Insider report, the temple to the highest deities of the Nordic pantheon will probably be ready by the end of 2018. It is being designed by Magnús Jensson, an Icelandic architect who is a member of the Ásatrúarfélagið – association of the faith of the Æsir or Asatru.
The Ásatrúarfélagið or Asatru is an order that worships the Nordic gods – the original religion of Iceland before the arrival of Christianity.
Like other pantheistic religions, Nordic religion was labelled paganism by the Christian world and eventually disappeared from the island nation as got completely Christianised by 1000 AD.
The aim of the Asatru is to help Icelandic people to return to their original roots. Though founded in 1972 by farmer and poet Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson, the association began its spread only in the mid-1990s and by 2002 had 570 members.
What is astonishing is that Asatru now has over 3900 members and is the largest non-Christian religion in the country. The total population of Iceland is just 330,000.
The BI report says that the temple, called Hof Ásatrúarfélagsins, will be built to represent the earth, sky and sun. Situated on a hill overlooking the capital city of Reykjavik, it will hold a maximum of 250 people for religious ceremonies and concerts.
It was to be completed by 2016 but technical issues got the construction delayed.
Though the followers of the religion will continue with ancient Nordic rituals such as Blot, they will skip certain practices such as animal sacrifice.
In 2015, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, the high priest of Asatru, had told The Guardian that the followers see mythology as a manifestation of human psychology and nature.
“I don’t believe anyone believes in a one-eyed man who is riding about on a horse with eight feet. We see the stories as poetic metaphors and a manifestation of the forces of nature and human psychology,” he had said.
It is believed that members of the association principally follow nine guiding principles: courage, truth, honour, fidelity, discipline, hospitality, industriousness, self-reliance, and perseverance. They also focus on and promote traditional Icelandic values.
According to BI, the land for the temple was donated by the city of Reykjavik and will probably not be the only temple in the country.
Iceland is not the only country where the Old Norse gods such as Odin, Thor and Frigga are making a comeback. Reports say that members of the Asatru are also rising in Denmark and Sweden – the two Scandinavian nations that once followed Nordic faith.