Europeans began sending missionaries to the north in the ninth century and gradually the various Viking kingdoms began to convert. Most of the early Viking rulers converted due to political and economic ties with Christian Europe and then forced their subjects to follow suit.

It's believed that the Vikings maintained their own beliefs after the raids, but came under political pressure to convert if more peaceful relationships were to be formed. Christians were not supposed to trade with pagans. It is therefore believed that many vikings had to undergo some form of ‘temporary christening' in order to trade.

The Norse judged the Christian god according to the same standard. Conversion was therefore predominantly a means of becoming convinced that the Christian god could bring more benefits than the previous gods could – or, at the very least, that he could bring enough benefits to merit being worshiped alongside the established gods.

The conversion of the Vikings to Christianity can be attributed to a combination of political, social, and economic factors. One reason for their conversion was the desire to forge alliances and maintain good relationships with European Christian rulers.