just thought of that thing i learned when i studied history of religion in tjåsskasulla back in 2016 again. by which i mean that, for reasons rooted in one very petty academic in the 40′s and the academic tendency to see a lack of material and declare it proof of nonexistance, according to swedish academia traditional animistic folk beliefs are extinct in so-called sweden. like a very large portion of people in rural areas can tell you that “uh no??? those are still very much alive???”, but as no one has documented it academically (as there is no funding for folkloristics thanks to said petty academic) academia doesn’t aknowledge it, even if the proof is right in front of them
and i was reading about so-called “neo-heathenry” in sverjje. the reason why it’s referred to as such is because, according to academia, there is no continuity. but here’s the twist:
the majority of so-called “neo-heathens” in sverjje fall within the categories of “forn sed” or “nordisk sed”
which (especially strongly in the case of nordisk sed) are based mostly in previously mentioned animistic folk beliefs, for which (regardless of academic stupidity) there definitely is continuity
in conclusion: most “neo-heathens” in sverjje are only considered “neo” because of academic stupidity
