Iceland: New religion aims to cut church-state tie

No, I did not join.. 🙂
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Icelanders are flocking to a recently founded religion which is promising them a rebate on their religious taxes, it’s reported.

In recent weeks hundreds of people have registered as Zuist, a relatively new religion based on ancient Sumerian beliefs, the Iceland Monitor website reports. While it is officially recognised as a religious organisation in Iceland, its main aim is to achieve a legislative change – to abolish state funding for religious groups, apportioned from citizens’ income taxes and known as parish fees.

The organisation is promising to give the cash it receives back to its members, and is calling for the government to stop collating information on Icelanders’ religious beliefs. According to the Visir news website, more than 1,000 people have registered as Zuist, meaning they now outnumber Muslims in Iceland’s population of 323,000. Board member Arnor Bjarki Svarfdal Arnarson tells Visir that the Zuisim in Iceland group will disband once they achieve their objectives.

Newly registered Zuists expecting a parish fee windfall may be disappointed to discover that they’ll be expected to pay income tax on any refund they receive, Iceland Monitor points out.
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