Ritröð Guðfræðistofnunar - 01.01.1990, Side 238

Studia theologica islandica
and in habits of prayer. Most respondents who expressed their ideas of God
believe that God is a force for good in the universe whom mortals can ap-
proach through prayer. It was very common for people to add that God is that
which is good in man. The Icelanders are a prayerful nation (28% recite the
Lord’s Prayer daily), most especially when they or their nearest and dearest are
in trouble. 64% pray when in difficultíes, while only 21% pray for God’s mercy
and forgiveness. It appears that one does not need to be a churchgoer or to
profess the Christian faith to rely upon prayer. A full 10% of those who con-
sider themselves atheists or agnostics engage in daily prayer, as do 28% of
those who profess a personal faith.
Conceptions of God and habits of prayer show that the religious lives of
many people are what may be called superficial or „extrinsic“, characterized
by unclear, emotional and anthropomorphic ideas of God. Extrinsic faith is
most concerned with happiness and good feelings: neither religious faith nor
communion with God make deep marks upon the personality or perspective
of the individual. He turns to God for help in difficult moments when there
is nothing else to be done. Only half as many pray in order to give thanks to
God as pray for help in times of trouble. Those whose prayers are God-cen-
tered (prayers for mercy and forgiveness, and prayers of thanks) characteris-
tically have deeper and more thoughtful religious lives. This latter group shows
more appreciation than others for the Christian sacraments. Extrinsic faith is
to be found not only among those professing a personal faith, but among those
professing Christianity as well.
Although people expect to receive various advantages from the Church of
Iceland, consider themselves in agreement with its tenets and look upon the
Church as a positive force in society, church services mean little to them. Only
10% of those between 18 and 75 attend church services once a month or more.
This is low even in comparison with the other Nordic countries, where church
attendance is considered to be rather poor. In the light of this fact, the answers
to the survey questions concerning the activities of the church are revealing.
One of every three respondents would like the Church of Iceland to operate
differently. The large majority of these have church services particularly in
mind and would like to see such services made lighter, more lively, and more
relevant to people’s daily lives.
The remarks that were made by respondents about church operations in-
dicated that many people would like the church to do more for youngsters and
would like to see more Christian material in the media, especially material for
children. Such remarks were made as often by those who attend church fre-
quendy as by those who seldom or never attend. The great majority of respon-
dents thought it obvious that the church should support efforts directed at
peace and disarmament, while only a minority felt that the church should take
positions on national issues. And those who considered it appropriate for
pastors to discuss political issues from the pulpit were fewer than those who
236