Nobody can deny that religion has had, and continues to have, a leading role in the historical evolution of societies across the world. From the strong relevance of the Greek and Roman pantheons in their societies to the conflicts between spiritual and temporal powers in the Middle Ages, from the animist practices of many African tribes to the strong interconnections between religious institutions and politicians in modern democracies, religion has always been something to which humankind has turned while searching for reassurance, order, meaning and predictability.
In the famous “Edda” myths by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson, the main character Gylfi continuously struggles to establish the meaning of life and determine a reason for creation. Along his journey, he is confronted by many of the Asgardian Gods, whom the myths describe as “unstable and ambivalent” in providing him with both answers and new questions.
Why is this so relevant? The Icelandic world described so brilliantly by Sturluson (somewhere around 1200 CE) was characterized by a prominent role for its deities in guiding people and providing them with solid foundations on which to construct their everyday lives. Now, roughly a thousand years later, Iceland is recognized as probably the least religious country in the world: only one young Icelander over four declares to believe in God and this ratio is even lower when it comes to self-define as religious (EVS 2019).
This entire book has been inspired by a single question surrounding this change: what happened in the meantime? Clearly, this question is very easy to pose but considerably difficult to answer. Why is Gylfi searching only for religious answers in the same land where, less than one millennium later, his counterparts have completely ruled out any deity from their search for meaning?