there are more young Swedes left than there are young Swedes opposed to the left.
Not suprised. After several generations of extreme secularism, Swedes have turned to selfish hedonism to fulfill their empty lives. But this article seems to provide some hope.
http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/Article____15193.aspx
- True, but although Swedes are more addicted to this drug than many others, my impression is that this modern phenomena isn’t exactly endemic to Sweden.
Still, Swedes are very much of Christians. That is if ‘Atheistic pietism’ could pass for true Christian faith.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietism#Atheistic_pietism
In one way, the spirituality of Scandinavians boils down to something close to the self esteem expressed by a certain ‘antithesis’ of the Carlsberg (Danish brewery) slogan “Probably the best beer in the world”, that is to say the likewise famous Heineken (Dutch brewery) tag line “When you make a great beer, you don’t have to make a great fuss”, namely:
“When you belong to a superior tribe, you don’t have to make a great fuss”.
To the extent this is true, I’d say it has more to do with a cultural superiority (from some angles) than genes.
The world is not ruled by Scandinavians, but the Viking cultural legacy of bold innovativeness, engagement in trade and exploration is found in all areas (Scandinavia, Britain, Northern France, Germany, Russia, Northern Italy and the US) which in fact have dominated the Western World or even the World during the last 12 centuries.
The most successful cultures during the last 12 centuries have been the most dynamic, least static ones (in contrast to the days of the Roman Empire). In all of these cases, there’s a strong Viking element in the population (although I repeat I don’t consider genes to be the key issue here). Nations like Spain, Poland and Turkey (nations with little Viking influence) had their chances but were hindered by a status quo seeking mentality and lost the race. A mere coincidence? I say not.
In many ways, our Scandinavian ‘religion’ goes hand in hand with the ‘radical’ Christian humanist creed of the North Italian Renaissance philosopher Pico della Mirandola.
I would like to summarize his provoking theological stance
like this:
- God may encompass the creation, but Man is the centre of creation.
- Man alone can decide his fate
- Out of free will, Man can choose to descend to forms of existence which are close to those of beasts, or to ascend to what is divine.
- Reality as we mortals know it while on earth is at Man’s command
The traditional Scandinavian concept of human progress might sound crass and ‘empty’, but it works and contrary to nurturing a 'après nous le déluge' (after us the deluge) attitude, Scandinavians are overly convinced international cooperation, science and technology are the solutions to whatever threats humanity is confronted with.
Scandinavians have embraced Christ not because we seek immortality and eternal life in the first place, but because we view the teachings of Christ to be a divine design, a plan for making the most out of this world.
I hope I don’t sound polemic. I’m just giving you my interpretation of what I feel is the rather unique Scandinavian spirituality and ‘Weltanschaung’/world view. When I was younger I thought all of the world were like us. By now I’ve learned it is not, but I remain optimistic of civilization and progress.
Best of regards.