In 2006, fourteen registered religious societies in Iceland signed a policy statement on a consultation platform with the aim of promoting mutual respect and strengthening peaceful relations between religions. The societies have since engaged in informal consultation and cooperation. There are now twenty-seven member societies, and it was therefore considered timely to establish a formal organization.
On February 20th, 2025, the formal founding of the Association of religious and secular life stance organizations took place in Reykjavík City Hall. The purpose of the organization is “to promote tolerance and respect among people in various religious and belief societies with different religious positions and different views on life.” The organization intends to defend freedom of religion and other human rights.
The founding meeting was attended by about fifty people from almost all religious and secular life stance societies. A new board was elected, chaired by Pétur Þorsteinsson, pastor of the Independent Church, and co-chaired by Mirela Protopapa from the Bahá’í community and Mörður Árnason, board member of Siðmennt.
On this occasion, the President of Iceland, Mrs. Halla Tómasdóttir, delivered an address in which she discussed, among other things, that Icelanders were a very homogeneous nation in terms of religion for several centuries after the Reformation. In recent decades, this has changed and now almost half of the country’s population is outside the national church.
“I think it is good for all of us to get to know new customs and foreign perspectives. It actually has a similar value to going on a trip, to learn and grow and at the same time understand both the thinking and worldview of others as well as our own. It can therefore be said that your forum for consultation also has educational value, can open people’s eyes and increase their understanding of both themselves and others,” said the President.
Photos: Lárus Bjarnason
