The Faiths of 500,000 British Citizens – Part 4: The Baha’i Faith

As you might know already, this month has been totally dedicated to the study of religious history. So far everything that has been covered, was closely linked with the Christian traditions and belief throughout time. This made me think about the situation of religious belief in general in the UK, and so I did some research on census and polls on religious practices of the British people. It was interesting though to find out that the second largest group of the population of the Uk according to the survey results is the one corresponding to those that consider to not have a religious affiliation whatsoever. Interesting, yes, but not surprising. What did surprise me and interested my, due to my own ignorance, is that almost 500,000 people in the Isles are part of religions that most of the people have not even heard about, and yet they are quite significant and outstanding in the rest of the world, especially in the Middle East. For this reason today, I am introducing you to these four faiths: Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism and the Baha’i Faith. In this brief introduction I will present you some of the basic details about their beliefs and practices, places of worship, rituals and their place in the modern world.

Baha’i Faith

This religion was created during the 19th Century in Persia, by the forerunner of the faith called Bab. The practice achieved its peak and spread thanks to another prophet known as Baha’u'llah. The message this belief intends to spread around the world is one of spiritual unity, collective evolution, peace and justice. In summary, one could say that this faith has adopted a syncretic combination of other religious practices, mainly Judaism, Christiany and Islam, as well as many others. For them, every man to this moment that has preached about God is a prophet, not someone who has the ultimate truth, nor someone who should be worshipped like a deity.

A good follower of the Baha’i faith will pursue the following objectives as part of the practice of his belief. They would search for the truth and justice, they love God and embrace severance from anything that is not him. The believe in obedience, service to the rest of the people, courtesy and reverence, no gossip, humbleness and self-realisation. The followers of the Baha’i Faith think that religious unity is possible and that human nature needs to change. In addition, they belief in equality, tolerance, universal education and auxiliary language, and that religion and science should work together. Finally, they are against radical behaviour, and they have a traditional view on sex within their doctrine. On a  final note, for them there is no evil. God is infinite and perfect. Evil does not exist, just imperfection.

There is no professional priests in the Baha’i Faith, nor monastic orders, so it could be said it is a lay religion. They count with a sacred calendar, constituted of 18 months, that compiles all their religious festivities. They celebrate the New Year or, the feast of Naw-Ruz around the 21st of march. They also commemorate the anniversaries of their prophets: their birthdays, declarations, ascensions and martyrdom. These festivities are mainly related with the Bab, Baha’u'llah and Abdu’l-baha. In what once was Persia, these feasts involve picnics and gatherings with musical performance and prayers. Nonetheless, these festivities adopt a more solemn nature when they are related to the death and martyrdom of their prophets or members of their community.Their places of worship are spread all around the world, and they are usually called house of worship. However, for daily prayers and activities most of the members of this community gather in their own houses, or in rented spaces.

What is the place of the Baha’i Faith in the Modern World?

As I have mentioned already, this religion is in fact quite modern, therefore it does not suffer as much as the old traditional religions from the changes of the new age. It is important to mention the role that the Baha’i have within modern-day politics. As it stand they are well-known for working with the United Nations, trying to improved people’s lives and to achieve their beloved equality and justice.

So, this is the end of this entry. I hope that by reading and understanding what this 500,000 people belief in the rest of the population would become more aware of the religious diversity of not necessarily the world, but just one country. I also hope this is interesting enough to make us all think about religious tolerance and the alternative faiths that exist in the world. Not everyone has to be Catholic or Protestant, not all the people from India are Hindus, neither are Islamic all of the people from the Middle East.

I hope you enjoyed reading these 4 updates. If you want to know more about the Baha’i Faith you can check the following resources:

Esslemon, J.E., An Introduction to the Baha’i Faith: Baha’u'llah and the New Era (1990 ed., Wilmette)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/bahai/-BBC website dedicated to this faith

http://www.bahai.org/- the international Baha’i website

http://www.bahai.org.uk/- the Baha’i Community in the UK

The Faiths of 500,000 British Citizens – Part 3: Jainism

As you might know already, this month has been totally dedicated to the study of religious history. So far everything that has been covered, was closely linked with the Christian traditions and belief throughout time. This made me think about the situation of religious belief in general in the UK, and so I did some research on census and polls on religious practices of the British people. It was interesting though to find out that the second largest group of the population of the Uk according to the survey results is the one corresponding to those that consider to not have a religious affiliation whatsoever. Interesting, yes, but not surprising. What did surprise me and interested my, due to my own ignorance, is that almost 500,000 people in the Isles are part of religions that most of the people have not even heard about, and yet they are quite significant and outstanding in the rest of the world, especially in the Middle East. For this reason today, I am introducing you to these four faiths: Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism and the Baha’i Faith. In this brief introduction I will present you some of the basic details about their beliefs and practices, places of worship, rituals and their place in the modern world.

Jainism

This faith has traditionally been seeing as an extreme version of aesthetic behaviour, combined with a life style that follows a very restricted diet and a somehow almost pathological ideal of non-violence. But let’s try to leave the stereotypes on the side and understand the nature of this religion. It seems that Jainism emerged in the north of India during what some scholars call the Vedic period (sometime between the 1100 and 150 BC). Most of the sources suggest that the practice was consolidated by the 8th/7th century BC, being the basin of river Ganges its cradle. From a western point of view it was a man called Mahavira the founder of the religion, but for the Jains he was just another of the many teachers and preachers they have had. There are also different sects of Jainism, the most relevant being the Svetambara and Digambara, being the last one more traditional and strict.

The Jains , it is true, follow the path of amisha (non-violence). The believe that every living form, including plants and animals, have a soul (jiva), and that these souls are attached to the rules of Karma. For them , the Karma is a physical substance that affects everything. There are two types of Karma, harming and non-harming. Due to this, and as the universe works in a action-reaction system, violence against anything can only produce “bad” karma, hence their pacifist ideas. Also, the Jains belief in a set of rules that are important for their development and achievement of enlightenment. These are the Three Jewels: right knowledge, right faith and conduct. For them, faith is not blind belief but the correct disposition to view and understand things. In this way, enlightenment is achieved by the following: non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy, and non-materialism. Also, it is considered that those that are enlighten have achieved to get rid off harmful karma. The Jains, belief that there is even a step afterwards enlightenment which they called deliverance where not only bad karma, but good karma have expired and therefore the being exists in perfect harmony.  Finally, Jainism promoted the idea of rebirth. Nonetheless, the next life form adopted by the jiva depends strongly on the mental state and karma of the deceased creature before the soul departs from its physical form.

The Jains have, as many other faiths, a sacred calendar and places, but most of them vary depending on the different sects. nonetheless, they have some common elements. For example, all the Jains have a day devoted to silence called Maunekadasi, which falls the eleventh day of the month of Margasirsa (western november/december). They also celebrate the birthday of Mahavira (13th apr./march) which is regarded as a public expression of their  religious adherence. Also, pilgrimages are very important, especially for lay people as they allow them to become aesthetic in a sense for a period of time. Most of the sites visited during such a journey are related to places where the foremakers reached enlightenment, or sites that are linked with any other aesthetic process. For the Svetambara sect the holy places are located in Gujara and Rajasthan, as well as Maharashtra. For the Digambara, however, the most important place of pilgrimage is in Karnataka. In addition, the Jains have a tendency to practice fasting in different degrees and ways.

What is the place of Jainism in the Modern World?

As we have already seen with the previous faiths treated during the last days, Jainism has gone through some changes in the new age. It has to be considered that, despite being relatively well-known, the Jains only constitute a 0.41% of the total population of India, and there are only 3000 followers elsewhere in the world. So, in order to prevail, they need to adapt, and so different perceptions have modified the faith lately. The main issue is perhaps the development of two different lines of practice. There is an orthodox side of Jainism, which is mainly performed in its motherland, and there is a neo-orthodox path which is the one that incorporate most of the changes. For the “neo-jains” science and religion go side-by-side. Their progressive ideas still accept vegetarianism as their lifestyle, as well as non-violence, but they have given importance to other aspects of religious practice, such as meditation . Also they seem to have freed themselves from the metaphysical complications of their belief, and adopted a relativist view of life. Furthermore, they do not believe that Jainism should follow a set of rituals, nor do they promote a division in sects.

To conclude, I would like to quote Paul Dundas in here, in order to explain better why the Jains do still have an impact in the modern world and why their faith is still popular;

“It is the capacity of Jains to adapt themselves to changing circumstances while remaining true to certain principles viewed as eternally valid which is one of the clues to the tenacity of their religion and mode of life over two and a half millennia”

If you would like to know more about the Jains, you can check some of the following resources:

Dundas, P., The Jains (London and New York, 1992)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/jainism/- BBC website about the faith.

Von Glasenapp, H., Jainism: an Indian Religion of Salvation (Dehli, 1999)

AND TO KNOW ABOUT THE FOLLOWERS OF THE BAHA’I FAITH KEEP AN EYE ON THE UPDATE FOR TOMORROW!

The Faiths of 500,000 British Citizens – Part 2: Zoroastrianism

As you might know already, this month has been totally dedicated to the study of religious history. So far everything that has been covered, was closely linked with the Christian traditions and belief throughout time. This made me think about the situation of religious belief in general in the UK, and so I did some research on census and polls on religious practices of the British people. It was interesting though to find out that the second largest group of the population of the Uk according to the survey results is the one corresponding to those that consider to not have a religious affiliation whatsoever. Interesting, yes, but not surprising. What did surprise me and interested my, due to my own ignorance, is that almost 500,000 people in the Isles are part of religions that most of the people have not even heard about, and yet they are quite significant and outstanding in the rest of the world, especially in the Middle East. For this reason today, I am introducing you to these four faiths: Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism and the Baha’i Faith. In this brief introduction I will present you some of the basic details about their beliefs and practices, places of worship, rituals and their place in the modern world.

Zoroastrianism

This religion is meant to be one of the oldest in the history of mankind. Presumably it was originated about 3500 years ago, during the Bronze Age in the Asian steppes. It had a huge impact in the Iranian culture, as well as in some parts of india, especially in the northern lands of the country. Also it has influenced many later faiths such as Mahayana Buddhism. In the west the religion was spread and known thanks to Greek knowledge on the founder of the religion: Zoroaster, or Zarathustra. The scripture that compiles their beliefs and practices is known as the Yasna.

Zoroaster’s religion was an adaptation of old pagan Iranian pastoral beliefs. The ancient cult was dedicated to the worship of nature gods, especially of water and fire, which were the main needs for these semi-nomadic agriculturists and farmers. They also believed in something called asha: the natural force that ensured existence. Through worship men not only benefited from the gifts nature provided them with, but they also became part of the process and connected with the divine. These ancient beliefs were incorporated into Zoroaster’s idea of one only god called Ahura Mazda, who functioned with the help of the Holy Immortals (which were spiritual attainments of god based on the old deities). In addition Zarathustra incorporated the “bad guy” of the religion, Angra Manyu, a being opposite to Mazda. In this way the faith imbued itself with a sense of dualism. There were good qualities that god portrayed and that human beings should attempt to develop, such as virtue, honesty, truth and courage. These concepts formed the ashavan, while everything of a chaotic nature was attached to the concept of druh, related to Angrra Manyu.

In the first days of the religion’s existence, and due to the nature of its worshippers, the places dedicated for praying needed to be simple and mobile. For this reason, the Iranian nomads used something called pavi: a small rectangular altar slightly elevated from the ground level, which they created from whatever they could find. Once the belief adopted its more developed form, prayers and other ceremonies started to take place in temples, usually identified as fire temples. Although there is not much known about these sites, Parsi legends tell us that there are many Zoroastrian fires still burning in their places of worship, but the most significant one is perhaps the Udvada Atash-Behram. About their ritual practices it is known that the Zoroastrians celebrate the Khordad Sal, or Zoroaster’s birthday. For this festivity they get together in their fire temples and make perform communal prayers, which is something unusual as the Zoroastrian practices and prayers are meant to be individual. They also have an initiation ritual called Navjote, and they perform weddings and funerary rites.

What is the place of Zoroastrianism in the Modern World?

In 2006 there were registered on a world scale 190,000 followers of Zoroaster’s faith. However, their beliefs had to undergo a process (or rather I should say the process to a certain degree is still undergoing) to adapt themselves to the changing new times. Since the 19th century western scholars and religious figures have been attacking the doctrine. On top of that the Zoroastrians found themselves in an uncomfortable situation, where different followers had different opinions on what Zoroaster’s actual teachings were or how they should be applied. In addition, one of the largest groups of the believers, the Parsi, introduced some changes in their actual practices, allowing a reasonable degree of syncretism and assimilation of other religious practices, mainly Christianity, Hinduism and Guru teachings.

One could consider then that Zoroastrianism is under threat. The dispersion of the Parsi community to other parts of the world, mainly overseas to the areas that used to belong to the British Empire, and great Britain itself, has not contributed to the situation and debate about how the religion should be regulated and organised is still ongoing. Nonetheless, this one is not the only practice with such a problem. Nowadays, there is not one single religious belief that is not under threat due to the changes in mankind’s way of life and sociopolitical affairs. For the population of the 21st century being religious, of any kind can become a stigma. Hopefully, through the understanding of religious practices, and the different faiths tolerance would spread and take over, and put an end to such madness.

 

In the meantime, I hope I have not confuse you too much with the Zoroastrian practices and that you have learned to appreciate the uniqueness of their ideas. To know more about the teachings of Zoroaster you can check the following resources:

Boyce, N., Zoroastrians: their Religious Beliefs and Practices (London and New york, 1979)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/zoroastrian/- BBC website on this faith

 

AND TO KNOW ABOUT THE JAINS AND FOLLOWERS OF THE BAHA’I FAITH KEEP AN EYE ON THE FOLLOWING UPDATES FOR TOMORROW AND WEDNESDAY!

 

 

 

The Faiths of 500,000 British Citizens – Part 1: The Sikh People

As you might know already, this month has been totally dedicated to the study of religious history. So far everything that has been covered, was closely linked with the Christian traditions and belief throughout time. This made me think about the situation of religious belief in general in the UK, and so I did some research on census and polls on religious practices of the British people. It was interesting though to  find out that the second largest group of the population of the Uk  according to the survey results is the one corresponding to those that consider to not have a religious affiliation whatsoever. Interesting, yes, but not surprising. What did surprise me and interested my, due to my own ignorance, is that almost 500,000 people in the Isles are part of religions that most of the people have not even heard about, and yet they are quite significant and outstanding in the rest of the world,  especially in the Middle East. For this reason today, I am introducing you to these four faiths: Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism and the Baha’i Faith. In this brief introduction I will present you some of the basic details about their beliefs and practices, places of worship, rituals and their place in the modern world.

Sikhism

This religion had its origins about 500 years ago in the Punjab region, India. Its founder is known as Guru Nanak Dev. It has influences from other religions, especially Hinduism and Islam, and it send a universal message of love and peace.

The Sikhs belief that there is only one God and that Truth is its name (Ikk oan kar sat nam), and this being has no physical form therefore, there are no representations of it. The Gurus are inspired by God and they teach the rest of the community, but they are not worshipped. Their holy scriptures are compiled in what is called the Guru Grant, which include the daily prayers. The ideal that Sikhism follows is the union of all religions, races, no matter what backgrounds these would have.

Despite of the individual factor being a very important part of the practice of this faith, the Sikh have very strong family and community values. They are hard-workers that belief in the dignity of labour, equality of all people, and the importance of service: providing for each other. The also refuse the use of any type of toxins or drugs (unless recommended by doctors), as well as the performance of any sort of ritual sacrifice. In addition, a very curios characteristic of these people is that, unlike many other Indians, they are active eaters of any kind of meat. Finally, there is a common element to all the Sikh which is their surname. For the males is Singh, meaning lion or lion-hearted, while for the females is Kaur (princess), and it is ment to resemble their courage and hard-working values. Also, it is a common practice to wear a steel bracelet, not cut your hair,  and in the case of males to wear turbans and beards.

Their preferred place of worship is called the Golden Temple, located in Amritsar (Punjab). Nonetheless, their meeting can take place in any gurudwara (anywhere were there is a Guru Grant). The five Takhts are also important as they are the seats of temporal authority. About their festivities, we know that just like in the Christian Faith, they perform initiation rituals (Amrit), marriage celebrations (Anand Karaj) and funerals. In addition, they have a religious calendar which include the following feasts. Baisakhi is their version of the New Year, which takes place some time in April and is usually celebrated as a mass congregation in the Golden Temple. They also celebrate the day in which Guru Hargobund was released from prison with a group of fifty-two Hindu princes. This event is commemorated about the same time than Christmas and it is called Bandi Chhor. In addition, they also celebrate the birthdays of their ten gurus.

What is the place of the Sikh in the Modern World?

Nowadays there are about twelve million of Sikh in the world, most of them living in India. It has to be highlighted the remarkable number of Sikh related with the military. This is likely connected with the long persecution that the Islamic population of the area launched against these people. As a result they armed themselves for self-defence. Their military tradition carried on under British government, as the Sikh fought in both the First and Second World War. Nonetheless, repression of the faith’s followers carried on during and after the British occupation of India. The massacre of 1919 after the prohibition of the celebration of the Sikh new Year serves as an example, in the same way that the violent violation of the Golden Temple in 1984 by the Indian armed forces as a result of what is known as the Operation Blue Star, ordered by Indira Gandhi who was the ruler of the state of India at the time.

As a result of the many political tensions between the Hindus, Muslims and Sikh people in the area of Punjab, many Sikh had no other choice but to leave their homeland and find refuge elsewhere, mainly in the states that where once part of the British Empire. This obviously helped to spread the faith to other parts of the world, becoming more and more popular. It is surprising how despite of being a faith very attached to its homeland and origins, it is at the same time a stable religion, and not only stable but a growing one. This might be due to the fact that, indeed, the values of the Sikh are flexible, and tolerant. Their beliefs and practices have positive views linked with many current issues such as racism, sexism and religious intolerance, which perhaps provide people with hope for a change in mankind’s attitude.

To Know more about the Sikh take a look to the following sources:

Kaur Singh, N-G., Sikhism: World Religions, (1993, New York)

http://www.sikhs.org/- website of the Sikh people and their beliefs

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/ - BBC section on this faith.

ANDDDD TO KNOW ABOUT THE ZOROASTRIANS, JAINS AND FOLLOWERS OF THE BAHA’I FAITH KEEP AN EYE ON THE FOLLOWING UPDATES! and for a heads up here is the link about the census and polls:

http://www.humanism.org.uk/campaigns/religion-and-belief-surveys-statistics

Women and Christianity in Western Scandinavia

The Conversion of Scandinavia is like the conversion of all areas a debated and contested topic in historical writing, not only because it is so decisive for the further development of the nations which we today know as Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, but also because different historians read the sources differently, and that is not even taking into account the use of archaeological evidence. But during the last decade or so have the historical research started to go interdisciplinary in the approach to this topic, yet it have seem that the scholars have forgot that the area they are concerned with is waste and contain many differences within itself. This have caused a number of theories and approaches to the topic to surface and then to disappear after some time, or as a Norwegian Bishop said it in 1930 when he attempted to make sense of the historical research about St Olaf up to that point; ‘If you go to the historians for answers you will witness a Polish parliament, were everyone will be looking after their own interests and tear apart everyone else’s ideas and meanings. The development of historical research on the topic is like a household where things are being put to the side, or stored away because it is of no use anymore, or thought unreliable, but who knows maybe some of the ideas and approaches that have been stored away might one day be packed out of the boxes again and embraced once more. ‘[1] So with this in mind we should explore the problems about the interpretations of the conversion in Scandinavia.

First of all we should all know that the idea which is taught in schools that Christianity was brought to the region with sword and blood, based on the Icelandic sagas, especially Heimskringla and the Sagas of the Norwegian Kings, is wrong.[2] I have elsewhere on this blog described the issues with the sagas as a source,[3] but I can in this instance add that for the region as a whole the sagas do not give enough information about the transition period between Paganism and Christianity, it almost seems like it all happened over night. However, we as readers of history are aware that there are other accounts to this matter, though all of them have their own issues which I will not go into detail about here, but these sources can help broaden our understanding of the late pagan world and the early Christian world in the North as well as the transition between the two of them, did this transition happen overnight in 1000 on Iceland and in 1030 in Norway and in the 10^th century in Denmark?  Or are we more likely to find that things took time and that the two religions and beliefs lived side by side for a period of years? I remember from my education in a Norwegian school that the conversion we dealt with as a clear cut change that happened almost overnight, and this was thought at a point when academic historians already had started to see the possibility that Christianity could have been present in the country long before the textbooks suggest it. [4]

More resent research have included the use of archaeology among their evidence, which have brought a whole new debate about this period,  a debate we here don’t have time nor place to give you full update on, but the main thing you need to know is that everything isn’t always what it seem. It is in this environment many new articles and books have been publishes as a contribution to the search for the “truth” about the conversion in Scandinavia. Among the recent and valuable contributions to the topic is Anne-Sofie Graeslund’s[5]  and Jørn Staecker’s[6] articles in the 2003 book ‘The Cross goes North’.  Yet both seem to apply their research and findings to the entire region even though they are only from a very small area, respectively from Birka in Sweden and parts of Denmark and these areas are both very well connected with the continent through trade and other connections. They were also the areas where German and Carolingian missionaries worked in 9^th century.[7] It has to be said, both articles were primarily concerned with the role of women in the conversion of Scandinavia, and their belonging in the new faith. Although these articles do stand fast in their conclusions and in their own right is worth reading, I believe that their generalization for all of Scandinavia based on the few sources and the little spread of evidence geographically might suggest that further research is needed, or that it need to be reevaluated. For there seem to be little if no evidence from Iceland or the western parts of Norway areas which traditionally have been associated with each other.

In a recent study the author(me) found that be looking at the evidence supplied through the Sagas and other medieval literature from Iceland and comparing this with the archaeological reminds found on Iceland and in the four western Counties in Norway; Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland and Rogaland, one can see that the conclusion that Scandinavian women were attracted to Christianity at an early age, based on Graeslund and Staerker’s articles, might not fit with the situation for the western parts of Scandinavia which was closed connected to the British Iles then to the continent,[8] after all a large number of settlers to Iceland came either through Scotland Ireland and England or the Hebrides, Orkney’s, Shetland and Faeroe Islands, which at the point were among the native population Christian, at least in the name. This suggest that many settlers who came to Iceland were acquainted with Christianity, and as the sagas and Landnamabook suggest, among these were some Christians who were both baptized and had received communion, among these the majority were women, though it seems from the same sources that religion did not at this point restrict the marriage marked  for the settlers or their counterparts in the British Iles, for it is suggested that there were marriages were one was belonging to the traditional beliefs and the other were Christian, in these cases it was most likely that the Woman would be Christian and would bring her religion with her to their new home on Iceland. Although these evidence are good in themselves there is one slight problem; so far it have not been found any Christian burials, not male nor female, in Iceland that dates before 980 A.D., so therefore it have been suggested that after the first generation of Christian settlers the Christian minority on Iceland took on the costumes of the pagan majority, and adapted to the political and cultural climate on the island to survive.[9] It have been suggested that since burials are done after the deceased is passed, they might not reflect the religious views, beliefs and practices held by the deceased, but rather by their family which is left behind, this might explain why we so far have not found any Christian burials on Iceland. Yet it have to be mentioned that the majority of the burials on Iceland are not what one would expect from an Viking burial; large mounds with ships and lots of goods, they are rather more sparsely equipped, and the majority are also found by share luck due to earth erosion or construction work.[10] Some archaeologists have suggested and believe that the tradition of flat ground burials, i.e. burials underground without a mound, are influences of Christianity, and the same is said about the lack of grave goods. If these are true then we might have to reevaluate the theory about the re-conversion back to paganism due to the political and cultural climate on the Saga island before the conversion in 999/1000. Already here we can see that the once straight forward conversion story of the north might be more complex than first believed, for aren’t these evidence killing each other?

Well to make it a bit more interesting; in the western counties of Norway, one can in the 8^th and 9^th century burials which archaeologists have classified as Christian or Christian influenced, and of these the majority are female, or cannot be gender determined. In an area where the ratio between burials is five male burials for every female burial,[11] one would expect to find evidence for Christian influence also in a larger number of male burials, yet the burials we here are concerned with are those the archaeologists have found, I.e. those that either have been marked by some means or just found by accident, and most of these bear witness of belonging in the upper layers of society,[12] therefore this evidence is not just demographically corrupted due to the unevenness between the genders, but also due to the possibility that maybe 90% of the population might have been buried in unmarked graves and we cannot therefore study these persons burials to trace the religious beliefs of the time through them. Yet those burials that have been classified as Christian can primarily be found in up to late 9^th century and again in the late 10^th century with a gap of about 50-70 years where they not only decrease in number, but also totally vanish for a period.[13] In this same period we see an Increase in the use of rich and well equipped mound or boat burials of the pagan traditions. And this leaves us with the question; do we see a decline in Christianity in the period and an increase in the traditional paganism as a reaction against this acceptance of the new faith? We hear about this in the sagas, that the powerful earls of Lade among others reinstituted and supported a revival of the pre-Christian traditions, as well as attacked Christians and attempts on accommodating for the conversion.[14] Are we once again faced with the possibility of a conversion back to the pre-Christian traditions? Or is the lack of Christian burials just and evidence for that the Christians started to bury their dead in flat ground graves without markers which is why we have not found any? Or what happened? For in the late 10^th century we find in at least two locations regular standardized Christian burials in cemeteries that suggest that the religion were well established by the last two decades of the tenth century in Norway, which is the same time as we see the first archaeological evidence for Christianity on Iceland also appearing . So where Staecker and Graeslund suggest the conversion was done once and was final then, it seems like the western regions of Scandinavia follows a different pattern with a period where the Christians disappear from the sources for the majority of the 10^th century, and at the same time it looks like we find a pagan revival in the same regions. This suggest as earlier explored that the women in western Scandinavia might initially have been drawn to the new faith in the early period, through contact with the world outside for then, to go back to the traditional religion when the political and cultural climate changed to be more hostile towards Christianity in the 10^th century.

---

[1] Berggrav, E., Brytningene omkring Olav og Stiklestad: Momenter til et opgjør foran jumileet, (1930, 7)

[2] R.Kayser, Norges Historie, 1866, 4-5

[3] See article on the blogg from 14^th of February 2011.

[4] R. Danielsen, S. Dyrvik, T. Grønlie, K. Helle, E. Hovland, Grunntrekk i norsk historie, fra vikingtid til våre dager, (1991, 31).

[5] A-S Graeslund, ‘The role of Scandinavian Women in Christianisation: the Neglected evidence’, in Carver, M., (ed.), The Cross goes North, (2003).

[6] Staecker, J., ’The Cross goes North; Christian Symbols and Scandinavian Women’, in Carver, M., (ed.), The Cross goes North, (2003).

[7] K.C. Alvestad, Women and Christianity in the ninth and tenth century Western Scandinavia, (2011,Unpublished, 7).

[8] O.G. Moseng, E. Opsahl, G.I. Pettersen, E. Sandmo, Norges historie 750-1537, (2007, 81).

[9] J. Jochens, ’Late and peaceful. Iceland’s conversion through arbitration in 1000’, Spectrum, vol. 74, No. 3, (Jul.,1999),640.

[10] B.B. Birgisdottir, ’Gravskikk på Island og norskekysten i vikingtiden, et bidrag til diskusjonen islendingenes opprindelse’, in A. Christophersen, & A. Dybdahl, (ed.), Gasir- en Internasjonal handelsplass i Nord-Atlanteren, (1999, 78).

[11] E.M. Skipstad, Kvinner og Kristendom på Vestlandet; En Undersøkelse med utgangspunkt i Graver fra yngre jernalder i Sogn, (2009, 40).

[12] Ibid, 47.

[13] Ibid, 67; J. Staecker, ’The Cross goes North; Christian Symbols and Scandinavian Women’, in Carver, M., (ed.), The Cross goes North, (2003, 468-470).

[14] P. Hærnes, ’Kristen innflytelse  i Rogalandsk vikingtid’ in, H-E. Liden, (ed.), Møte mellom hedendom og kristnedom i Norge, (1995, 85)

Bibliography:

Alvestad, K.C., Women and Christianity in the ninth and tenth century Western Scandinavia, (2011,Unpublished).

Berggrav, E., Brytningene omkring Olav og Stiklestad: Momenter til et opgjør foran jumileet, (1930)

Birgisdottir, B.B., ’Gravskikk på Island og norskekysten i vikingtiden, et bidrag til diskusjonen islendingenes opprindelse’, in A. Christophersen, & A. Dybdahl, (ed.), Gasir- en Internasjonal handelsplass i Nord-Atlanteren, (1999)

Danielsen, R., Dyrvik, S., Grønlie, T., Helle K., Hovland, E., Grunntrekk i norsk historie, fra vikingtid til våre dager, (1991).

Hærnes, P., ’Kristen innflytelse  i Rogalandsk vikingtid’ in, H-E. Liden, (ed.), Møte mellom hedendom og kristnedom i Norge, (1995)

Graeslund,A-S., ‘The role of Scandinavian Women in Christianisation: the Neglected evidence’, in Carver, M., (ed.), The Cross goes North, (2003).

Jochens,J., ’Late and peaceful. Iceland’s conversion through arbitration in 1000’, Spectrum, vol. 74, No. 3, (Jul.,1999)

Kayser, R., Norges Historie, 1866

Moseng, O.G., Opsahl, E., Pettersen, G.I., Sandmo, E., Norges historie 750-1537, (2007).

Skipstad, E.M., Kvinner og Kristendom på Vestlandet; En Undersøkelse med utgangspunkt i Graver fra yngre jernalder i Sogn, (2009)

Staecker, J., ’The Cross goes North; Christian Symbols and Scandinavian Women’, in Carver, M., (ed.), The Cross goes North, (2003).

http://wuhstry.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/the-icelandic-sagas/

Easter Traditions

In order to introduce this month’s topic of religious history and as Holy Week draws to a close, I have written about Easter and it’s traditions through history. In case you don’t celebrate it or have forgotten, at the end of this week or in a few weeks’ time, many people around the world will be celebrating both the most significant event in the Christian story as well as a long-lived Pagan event of new birth.

Originally, Easter and certainly the time of year in which it is celebrated, was a Pagan festival which honoured a Goddess relating to nature and new birth, hence the association of lambs, eggs and bunnies. This Goddess was known as Eastre, ‘the Teutonic goddess of spring and dawn.’[1]

Although, after the conversion of Emperor Constantine to Christianity, it is believed, so as to ease in the transition of their Empire from Paganism to Christianity, the Romans adopted many existing Pagan dates and celebrations into the Christian calendar of festivals. As well as Easter being celebrated at the time of the Pagan Spring Equinox, Christmas also almost shares its dating with the Winter Solstice.

Indeed, although there are a fair few, not many of the Christian aspects of Easter specifically derive from the story of Jesus and the accounts of the Bible. As well as this, many of the non-religious aspects evolved much later, such as the Easter Bunny and chocolate eggs.

It can be implied, from history, that the decision to have the Christian celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection was made partly because it coincides with the Jewish Passover festival and because Easter in the Pagan traditions is a time of new-life. Examples of this include the symbol of the egg and everything that comes with Spring-time such as the birth of baby lambs and other animals. Those who do not share or fully grasp the Christian faith may wonder how the notion of new-life relates to the Christian adoption of the originally Pagan festival of Easter. Well, as Christians believe Jesus was crucified to free us from our sins and that he rose again and consequently defeated death, Christians also believe that as humans we can share in Jesus’ resurrection and eternal life, if we choose to believe in Him and acknowledge that He paid the price for our sins. This is also seen as an opportunity for our souls to live forever in Christ’s salvation. Yet, arguably, despite Easter in England becoming very much a Christian orientated celebration; there still remain clear Pagan traditions, such as the Easter egg, representing new life.

The main Christian aspects of Easter revolve around the week leading up to Easter Sunday, the usual day on which Christians traditionally come to God in worship and thanksgiving, as well as Lent and the famous Shrove Tuesday. Although Shrove Tuesday, it seems, is just as much related to socio-historical customs as it is to Christian’s traditions. According to history, it was tradition to raid the store cupboard and use up all the indulgent supplies such as flour, sugar and eggs, usually used to bake cakes. These would be mixed together to make a feast of pancakes, in recognition of the final day of indulgence before the time of often fasting or giving something up, known in the Christian Calendar as Lent. Ash Wednesday signifies the beginning of Lent and is 46 days before Easter and ‘derives its name from the practise of placing ashes on the forehands of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God.’[2]

With regards to the week before Easter, known in the Church of England as Holy Week, Christians remember Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem and was allegedly welcomed by people waving palm leaves, after having Spent 40 Days, in the desert, resisting temptation from the Devil. Maundy Thursday in memory of Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples, when he broke bread and shared wine for the last time. This was also the night on which Jesus was betrayed by Judas, in the Garden of Gethsemane. As well as Good Friday, also known as Black Friday and a few other names, when Jesus sacrificed himself on the Cross through His great love for humanity.

Easter Sunday itself is believed to be the oldest observed Christian festival[3], as it commemorates the day on which Christ fulfilled the penultimate prophecy by dying on the Cross and rising again, as well as the time when the Church community was first established, according to John 19, verses 25-27.

The name Easter in England also has a history of its own, as it is not the original Christian name, instead it was used for the Christian celebration, when the faith was brought to England, so that the transition would be a lot easier for English Pagans, in that the name Easter was associated with the Pagan Spring festival of new life.[4]

The idea of an Easter bunny and the edible egg derives from the original Pagan symbols of new life, which were originally a hare and an ordinary egg, both representing new life. Regarding, the significance of the egg, it is believed that the empty or inanimate shell is supposed to represent death, which Christians believe all humans were subjected to before Jesus’ crucifixion and the actual edible part symbolises the new life we receive through Christ’s sacrifice.[5] It has also been claimed that ‘some believe that the egg might represent the stone that was rolled away from Christ’s tomb, revealing his resurrection.’[6] It is also the case that, despite their disagreements over the specific date on which Easter is celebrated, both Eastern Orthodox Christians and Western European Christians adopted the traditionally Pagan symbols of the hare and the egg. Although, it is not completely clear why the eggs we have in the UK are chocolate, when in some European countries ordinary eggs are still used, being decorated with lots of colour and patterns and given to people as gifts. Another popular tradition in England is the Easter egg hunt, which is believed to derive from America, when German immigrants brought their egg and hare traditions, which over a number of years spread to other countries.[7] This originally featured children making nests and leaving ‘them outside for the hare to lay her eggs in them’[8], although this has now evolved into children finding chocolate eggs hidden for them.

Bibliography

http://www.celebratingeaster.com/traditions/

http://www.theholidayspot.com/easter/history/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter

http://www.religioustolerance.org/easter1.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday

http://www.originalbuzz.info/index.php/2012/02/the-easter-egg-hunt-history/

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[1] http://www.celebratingeaster.com/traditions/history/

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday

[3] http://www.theholidayspot.com/easter/history/easter_history.htm

[4] http://www.theholidayspot.com/easter/history/easter_history.htm

[5] http://www.celebratingeaster.com/traditions/

[6] http://www.originalbuzz.info/index.php/2012/02/the-easter-egg-hunt-history/

[7] http://www.originalbuzz.info/index.php/2012/02/the-easter-egg-hunt-history/

[8] http://www.originalbuzz.info/index.php/2012/02/the-easter-egg-hunt-history/