Interfaith

The Interfaith Forum of Iceland

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland took the initiative of establishing an Interfaith Forum in Iceland in 2006.
Preparations began in early 2005 when the ELCI along with Alþjóðahús, the International House in Reykjavík,invited all registered religious organisations to send a representative to a preparatory meeting. Participation in the preparations were several Christian Churches, the Muslim Association, the Buddhist Association, the Bahá´í Community and the Asa Faith Society. The Forum was established formally in November 2006.

It has since held one conference on rituals surrounding death and dying and a seminar on religion and prejudice. The Forum has also published a brochure on important issues regarding death and dying in different religions. The brochure is intended for emergency workers, police, ambulance workers and others.

International Interfaith Work

The ELCI participates in Interfaith work on international Level, such as in the Porvoo Communion and other ecumenical organisations. The Porvoo Communion produced Guidelines for Churches on Interfaith Encounter in 2004. They are also awailable in Icelandic. 

Religious landscape in Iceland

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, although established by law, is autonomous in its internal matters. The State has pledged to support the church and it also collects membership dues for the church and other denominations and religious communities in the country. The biggest non- Lutheran congregations being the Roman Catholic and the Pentecostal churches.

Churches and religions according to the census of 2006, number of members and percentage of total population: