Other Religion Commons^™

Til Valhall: The Formation Of Nordic Neopagan Identity, Religiosity, And Community At A Norwegian Heavy Metal Festival, Padraic M. Fitzgerald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A major draw of Nordic Neopaganism is the great degree of personal freedom practitioners have in the construction and performance of their spiritual identity. Nordic Neopaganism has no central hierarchy or unifying dogmatic system to dictate such endeavors. Instead, practitioners draw from the tradition’s body of “lore” -- the historical accounts, archaeological records, pre-Christian myths, folklore, and folk traditions from the Nordic cultural area -- to inform their religiosity. The works of visual artists, musicians, and scholar-practitioners inspired by elements of this body of lore serve to further constitute it. This lore provides the basis and inspiration for religious identity …