National Church Membership Continues To Decline, Pagans Still Largest Non-Christian Faith

According to the latest data from the National Registry, membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland–better known as simply the National Church–has continued to decline. Meanwhile, those of “undefined faith” have increased slightly.

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The National Church of Iceland still enjoys the lion’s share of Iceland’s spiritual life, claiming membership from 60.7% of the population. However, this is down from 65.2% in December 2019, and down from 90% in 1998. In fact, the National Church lost 285 members between just last December and March 1.

The second largest Christian denomination in Iceland is the Catholic church, with some 14,718 members, down by 19 from last December.

Meanwhile, Humanists Iceland (Siðmennt) saw the greatest increase from last December until now, as 125 new members joined, an increase of 2.7%. The largest proprtional increase was with the Salvation Army, which gained 177 members over this same period of time, making an increase of 12%.

The largest non-Christian faith in Iceland remains the Ásatrú Society, with 5,549 members, up by 47 members since last December.

The full table of religious and philosophical memberships in Iceland can be found here (.xlsx file).