[Ea]

Originally Posted by recluse

I find it interesting that Gaiman chose the Norse gods. I admit to knowing very few Norwegians, and can't speak for them, but do they still believe?

Em.... "Norse" would refer to all of Scandinavia - Sweden, Denmark and Norway and parts of Finland - and includes Iceland and the few settlers on Greenland at the time.

The belief in the old gods did not survive the Christianisation around 1000 AD. Today, you may find small neo-pagan groups who believe in the old gods, but basically all the knowledge and stories of the old gods are founded in the works and stories that were collected on Iceland in the late 17th century. N.F.S. Grundtvig (19th century, Denmark) translated the old myths to current Danish and used the stories to support building a national identity, re-inforcing a positive image of the vikings. Some of the bed-time stories I was told was the stories of the old gods - they still live, but it's not an unbroken tradition.

I am personally very fascinated by the old gods and that Gaiman chose them as main characters certainly helped to draw me in as a reader. As this thread must attest, I'm still very fascinated - also in how others see them (others being non-scandinavians not brought up with the stories and knowledge).

In any case, to answer your question, yes, a very few Norwegians and other Scandinavians believe, but it's a modern belief. It is not an ancient tradition that has survived the ages.

Originally Posted by recluse

In other books I've read concerning old god/myth survival, it is usually the Irish/Celtic ("Faerie Tale" by Raymond Feist), the Welsh ("CandleNight" by Phil Rickman) and the Native American beliefs.

I think any survival tends to be found most alive in folklore. I know none of the books you mention, so I can't make any possible comparisons with Scandinavia. With regards religion we are very pragmatic and secular in Scandinavia - even folklore belief seem to have faded away.

Originally Posted by recluse

Lastly, I recently watched a television program about Thor and Ragnarok which strongly suggested that Ragnarok is not an end times myth, but a creation myth.

Edit, added:
That is the first I have heard of that hypothesis. I am VERY curious about what sources they used in the TV program? And how they argued for their conclusion? It seems strange and new to me, and I would really love to learn more about what they said about it. Is the TV program available online?