A BRONZE AGE RELIGION?
Even without this theoretical baggage, a history of “religion in the Scandinavian Bronze Age” or of “Bronze Age religion” is not an easy task, if indeed possible. The theme is circumscribed by claims so abundant and diverse that considering them all is impossible.
And we should also enquire if what we might identify as a religion existed at all, at least understood as one system where all actions might conceivably be interpreted as expressions of one single, coherent and logically harmonious entity (at least from the standpoint of adherents).Why, however, insist on finding religion when thoughts and actions may have had their own agenda, sometimes related to a wider, “spiritual” context, sometimes not? There is a real risk in constructing and explaining something which may exist mainly as a result of archaeological research and academic traditions of organizing knowledge. As archaeology often works within an evolutionistic framework, the study of a Bronze Age religion might be expected to show changes in spiritual and social progress and even a development towards individual powers or gods. As most archaeology is also a national construct, it is difficult to argue for overarching religious phenomena. Even if the term ideology has sometimes been used to replace religion and provide room for more social, economic or even political discussions, the questions surrounding belief systems remain (Nordbladh 1978b).