The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.2000, Page 47

Vol. 55 #4
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
345
planting and growth of spiritualism. The
Icelandic language itself is "rich in names for
spirits of various kinds," identifying some two
dozen varieties of ghost alone! In the appar-
ent "naturalness" of the many stories of haunt-
ings, they see "evidence for a continuing saga
consciousness" among the Icelandic people.
Yet while spiritualism found a hospitable
environment in Iceland, they assert that it was
"a distinctly modem movement that appeared
at the beginning of the twentieth century."
They document the mutual interplay
between the budding spiritualist movement
and the evolving political life and proto-
urbanization of Icelandic society during this
period, showing how reaction to spiritualism
was sometimes bound up with the competing
interests of political parties and status groups.
In identifying the roots of Icelandic spir-
itualism, the authors overstate the signifi-
cance of Unitarian influences in its develop-
ment. None of the early Icelandic Unitarian
ministers was much inclined towards spiritu-
alism. Magnus Skaptason was a Christian
Universalist who strayed from the historic
creeds - but not very far. Bjorn Petursson was
a religious rationalist, as were the American-
trained ministers of the succeeding genera-
tion. In fact, one is left to wonder how
Swatos and Gissurarson define spiritualism
when they suggest that S.J. Johannesson
"clearly uses spiritualist language" in his
poetic tribute to Bjorn Petursson:
Here I bid you farewell, my friend, for
the last time;
We will meet on the other side,
Where I will be greeted by your joyous
spirit
As I come along the same road.
This verse reflects a sentiment that might
be uttered by anyone from the most orthodox
Christian to anyone mildly atheist. It may
reflect the sloppy sentimentality of a
Hallmark card but it is hardly an expression of
spiritualism!
It is true that many Icelandic Unitarians
were inclined towards spiritualism, as were
some of the liberal denomination's continental
leaders. The Icelandic-trained ministers who
came to North America to serve Unitarian
congregations between the two world wars do
appear to have been somewhat more positive
towards spiritualism and psychical research
than their American-trained colleagues. But
the spiritualists were never more than a small
minority within Unitarianism, reflecting the
broad tolerance of its congregations and their
willingness to embrace people and points of
view that were elsewhere marginalized. At
no time in the history of Unitarianism has
spiritualism ever constituted a mainstream
theological trend. I suspect that the same is
true for both the Church of Iceland and the
Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran Synod, even
though a few leading lights in both may have
embraced spiritualism in some measure or
other. In the English-speaking world, spiritu-
alism was more or less a fashionable religious
counterculture that flourished during the first
two decades of the twentieth century across
denominational lines - much like New Age
thought flourishes today. While Iceland may
have offered a receptive environment to spir-
itualism and psychical research, it is difficult
to escape the suspicion that Icelandic spiritu-
alism was less an indigenous phenomenon
than it was a religious fashion imported from
abroad.
The authors document the role of several
noteworthy literary, political, and religious
leaders who figure prominently in the story of
Icelandic spiritualism: author Einar
Hjorleifsson Kvaran, prime minister Bjorn
Jonsson, and theologian Haraldur Nielsson, to
name the three most important individuals.
The authors' most significant original
research has yielded the story of the reputed
medium IndriSi IndriSason, accounts of sev-
eral lesser mediums, the conflict between
Haraldur Nielsson and Bishop Jon Helgason,
and the history of the Icelandic Society for
Psychical Research.
Unfortunately, Swatos and Gissurarson
seem rather timid when it comes to evaluating
the credibility of the spiritualists. They do
present the critical reactions of skeptics like
journalist Jon Olafsson, who dismissed spiri-
tualism as superstitious and fraudulent, phi-
losophy professor Agust H. Bjarnason, who
suggested that IndriSi Indridason was "hys-
teric and epileptic,"and Bishop Jon Helgason,
who described spiritualism as a "pseudoreli-
gion" whose adherents "rejoice over its
worthless messages from the other side as
new revelations." For their own part, Swatos