Religion in Iceland

I decided to blog about religion in Iceland because I have always been fascinated with the churches in Iceland, especially the traditional ones out in the country. Religion in Iceland was initially the Norse paganism until Christian conversion. During the Reformation, Iceland adopted Lutheranism in place of its earlier Roman Catholicism. Today nearly all Icelandic religious followers are Christian, and a vast majority are Lutheran--although church attendance remains low. 89.3% of the population are members of Christian congregations and of that 79.1% are Lutheran belonging to the Church of Iceland. Roman Catholicism is the largest non-Lutheran faith in Iceland, though only 2.5% of the population practice it. It is estimated that half of the nation's Catholics are foreign born with the main groups being Filipinos and Poles. This past Sunday I went to a Catholic mass with my friend Lauren. It was at a church in Reykjavik, about a 10 minute walk, called Landakotskirkja which is the cathedral of the Catholic Church in Iceland. They offer Catholic mass every Sunday in English. It was pretty easy to follow the mass, as there was a program in English and projection screens with the words and lyrics. I noticed at the mass about half or more of the people there were Filipino. They did most of the music; there were three men playing acoustic guitars and a group of men and women singing, which was really beautiful. It was a little different than what I am used to, but that made it interesting. Here is a picture of the church: 

 This church was built by Guðjon Samuelsson who also built the famous Hallgrimskirkja (in Reykjavik) and Akureyarkirkja (in Akureyri in northern Iceland). Both Hallgrimskirkja and Akureyarkirkja are Lutheran churches. Guðjon Samuelsson's churches are said to be inspired by the natural geology of Iceland, especially the basalt columns such as those at the waterfall Svartifoss. 

Hallgrimskirkja

Akureyarkirkja

Then there are the smaller more traditional churches that you see in the countryside, which I personally like better; although, I haven't gone inside one yet. My favorite I've seen so far is the one in Vik. Fun fact from Wikipedia: If the volcano Katla erupts it could produce an enormous flash flood large enough to wipe out the town (Katla is beneath a glacier). The town's church, located high on a hill, is believed to be the only building that would survive; thus, the people of Vik practice periodic drills and are trained to rush to the church at the first sign of an eruption.

Here are some pictures of other churches I've seen on the web: