Asatru has gained increased visibility in Sweden this year, as the news of government recognition of a major Heathen organization has spread and Heathens held their annual public Spring Blot in Gamla Uppsala. So far, the Swedish press has responded primarily with open-minded curiosity, interviewing several Swedish Heathens and treating the entire issue as an opportunity to learn more about Asatru. Perhaps Swedish journalists are more familiar with the Heathen past and more comfortable with it than journalists in other countries.

The only sour note has appeared in Kyrkans Tidning, the news site of the State (Lutheran) Church. Their headline sniffs that Asatruar are “allowed to call themselves” a religious body, and the article questions the significance of the government’s recognition, describing the process as a legal/administrative one and not a “seal of approval.” Still, this is a comparatively mild treatment considering the source.

A summary of Swedish press coverage (all in Swedish):

  • Swedish Radio 4/13/07 Radiokompaniet interviews Swedish Heathen Calle Rehbinder about the Spring Blot in Uppsala.
  • Svenska Dagbladet 4/9/07. Coverage of the Spring Blot in Uppsala.
  • Upsala Nya Tidning 4/9/07. Coverage of the Spring Blot. Also in English on an earlier blog entry here.
  • Icakuriren 3/31/07. “We choose other Gods.” The paper uses the occasion of Easter as an opportunity to interview a Heathen, along with a Bahai and a Zoroastrian.
  • Swedish Radio 3/21/07. Sveriges Asatrosamfund Vice Chairman Per Lundberg interviewed on radio program Morgonpasset.
  • Aftonbladet, 3/11/07. Brief summary of a longer interview with Per Lundberg in that day’s paper.
  • Swedish Radio 3/10/07. Sveriges Asatrosamfund’s Chairman Henrik Hallgren speaks on the religious radio program Vid Dagens Början. (30-day archive only, program no longer available.)
  • Kyrkans Tidning 3/7/07. “Asatruar allowed to call themselves a religious body.”
  • Swedish Radio 2/23/07. Religious program Människor och Tro discusses the recognition of Asatru. (30-day archive only, program no longer available.)
  • Sydsvenskan, 2/14/07. “Freya, Odin and Thor gain official status.”