Iceland has a state religion (Evangelical Lutheran/Protestant Christian). And close to 90% of the population are members of that church. But most Icelanders are not dogmatic when it comes to religion.

The second denomination in terms of members is the Roman Catholic church. Halldor Laxness, Iceland's Nobel Laureate in literature, was at one point a devout Roman Catholic. He went on to write Christianity Under Glacier, a book about a priest in a remote parish that was more concerned with fixing things and talking to people than with doctrine or ritual. And that is typical of most Icelander's opininions.

There are a handful of people of other faiths, including a few Pentecostal churches. Globalization is increasing the variety of religions. When I lived in Akureyri, most people there thought the Pentecostals were a little crazy.

A number of Icelanders follow Ásartrú, the older religion of Thor and Odin; their number is probably in the hundreds or very low thousands. I had the pleasure of going on a camping trip to Snaefellsness with several Ásartrú (including the Grand Góði) in 1987.

A 2005 study of 33 countries found that Iceland led the list in terms of people believing in evolution; 85% of Icelanders bought the science idea. (The US and Turkey came in last on the list, with 40% and 25%, respectively).

Although Icelanders seem all scientific, they have no problem believing in the hidden people or huldafólk. While the huldafolk have been characterized as elves or fairies, that isn't quite true. According to one semi-biblical legend, Eve was in the Garden of Eden, and she didn't get around to washing all of her kids. When the old man with the big grey beard came around, she tried concealing the children that were caked in dirt. Being omnipotent, the big guy knew exactly what was going on, and being omnipotent, he uttered the judgement "That which is hidden from me now will be forever hidden!" So a race of invisible people was formed, and they can get mischevious or downright nasty if they are provoked.

It isn't clear to me how some Icelanders claim to see the hidden people - if you believe the story, then logic dictates the hidden people are going to stay hidden. And I'm not sure how many Icelanders really believe in the huldafolk. Leifur (a guy I worked with in Hveragerði) really did believe in them, claimed to have seen them, talked to them, etc. But most people just kinda give a sly smile and try not to say anything ... I think they might be like the parents who don't want to tell a kid about Santa Claus. My wife believes that the huldafolk were a 'boogeyman' story told to keep children from going into dangerous areas in the old days ... which makes sense as the hidden people tend to live in dramatic rock formations, or around rapids and waterfalls.