Øvyind Strømmen
Managing Editor, Hate Speech International
‘The Nordic Far Right and the Use of Religious Imagery’
The modern-day extra-parliamentary far right in the Nordic countries is varied and chaotic, and includes both openly neo-Nazi groups and (often short-lived) groups based entirely on a looser anti-Muslim or anti-immigrant ideology.
This paper draws on contemporary examples from Norway, Sweden and Finland, contrasting them with examples from the past, in order to highlight how these groups use religious imagery, both Christian and pagan. While the ideology itself is rarely influenced by religion, the use of religious imagery allows them to form conceptions of “self” and “other”. Furthermore, the use of such imagery is used as a form of historical framework, providing an imagined historical legacy.
Managing Editor, Hate Speech International
‘The Nordic Far Right and the Use of Religious Imagery’
The modern-day extra-parliamentary far right in the Nordic countries is varied and chaotic, and includes both openly neo-Nazi groups and (often short-lived) groups based entirely on a looser anti-Muslim or anti-immigrant ideology.
This paper draws on contemporary examples from Norway, Sweden and Finland, contrasting them with examples from the past, in order to highlight how these groups use religious imagery, both Christian and pagan. While the ideology itself is rarely influenced by religion, the use of religious imagery allows them to form conceptions of “self” and “other”. Furthermore, the use of such imagery is used as a form of historical framework, providing an imagined historical legacy.