"A Considered Conversion": The Conscious Choice to Accept Christianity by the Populace of Iceland and Greenland in the Era of Scandinavian Conversion

• Main Author: Burt, Robert A.
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 2011
• Subjects: Conversion; Scandinavia; Christianity; Iceland; Greenland; Roger Stark; Rodney Finke; Íslendingabók; Landnámabók; Kristni saga; Njáls saga; History
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2928; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3927&context=etd

A Considered Conversion: The Conscious Choice to Accept Christianity by the Populace of Iceland and Greenland in the Era of Scandinavian Conversion Robert A. Burt Department of History, BYU Master of Arts Most studies of the Christianization of Scandinavia attribute the phenomenon to the influence of powerful kings. However, many times the conversion experiences of Iceland and Greenland are either ignored, or tied to the influence of these distant kings. This thesis unites sociological ideas relating to conversion along social and familial lines, ideas introduced by Roger Stark and Rodney Finke, with historical details of Icelandic and Greenland family genealogies found in Íslendingabók, Landnámabók, Kristni saga, and Njáls saga to demonstrate a clear pattern of Christian conversion along social and familial lines on the islands of Iceland and Greenland during the era of Scandinavian Conversion.