Community of Forn Sed Sweden

Heathen (Germanic neopagan) organization founded in 1994

The Community of Forn Sed Sweden (Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige), formerly the Swedish Asatro Community (Sveriges Asatrosamfund) is a heathen (Germanic neopagan) organization founded in 1994.

The Swedish Asatro Community (Sveriges Asatrosamfund) was founded in 1994 as an outgrowth of a group that studied Norse history and culture from a non religious point of view. It became a registered religious organization in Sweden in 2007. The Swedish Asatro Community became one of the most important heathen organizations in Sweden, when it formed the main subject of Fredrik Skott's study of neo paganism in Sweden, Asatro i tiden, published in 2000, at which time it was the largest such organization in the country. At the May 15, 2010 Thing, the organization changed its name to Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige. In 2017, according to a spokesperson, the membership accounted to about 400. It had at that point been surpassed by the Nordic Asa Community, founded in 2014, making the Community of Forn Sed Sweden the second largest heathen organization in the country. The annual Thing elects the Board, called the Council, as well as making major decisions. The organization divides the country for administrative purposes into three regions or goðorðs, Götaland, Svealand and Norrland, each of which has a goði and a gyðja, and serves as an umbrella organization for local groups. The Community of Forn Sed Sweden publishes a periodical called Mimers Källa.

Members vary in their conception of the gods. Some perform offerings on their own in addition to the organization's collective blóts, which, like those of the Danish Forn Siðr organization and in conformity with Swedish law, are not animal sacrifices as they would historically have been. the first heathen blót at the site in more than 900 years. It has since held open blóts there every spring and is perhaps best known for that. and in 2010, 2011, and 2012 presented programs on heathenry in the Vid dagens början series of religious and philosophical reflections on Sveriges Radio, provoking criticism from Siewert Öholm that Ásatrú was not worthy of broadcasting.

The Community of Forn Sed Sweden is "antiracist or ethnic" rather than völkisch. It "requires its members to adopt a non racist and democratic stance." Its own statement is that while non dogmatic, its value system is "based on a humanistic and democratic ethos that recognizes all human beings" and it "stand[s] for religious tolerance and religious freedom in a multicultural society." It set up a níðstǫng on its site against racist and xenophobic misuse of Norse symbols, which has become "something of a marker" for the group. It is also establishing itself as particularly gay friendly.