Related Research Articles
Heathenry is a modern Pagan new religious movement that has been active in the United States since at least the early 1970s. Although the term "Heathenry" is often employed to cover the entire religious movement, different Heathen groups within the United States often prefer the term "Ásatrú" or "Odinism" as self-designations.
Æsir or ēse are gods in Germanic paganism. In Old Nordic religion and mythology, the precise meaning of the term "Æsir" is debated, as it can refer to both the gods in general or specifically to one of the main families of gods, in contrast to the Vanir, with whom they waged war, ultimately leading to a joining of the families. The term can further be used to describe local gods that were believed to live in specific features in the landscape such as fells. In the Old English Wið færstice, the Ēse are referred to, along with elves, as harmful beings that could cause a stabbing pain, although exactly how they were conceived of by the author of the text is unclear.
Blót or geblōt are religious ceremonies in Germanic paganism that centred on the killing and offering of an animal to a particular being, typically followed by the communal cooking and eating of its meat. Old Norse sources present it as a central ritual in Old Nordic religion that was intimately connected with many wider aspects of life. Large blót are often described as taking place in halls, organised by the rulers of the region who were expected to carry out the practice on behalf of the people. Blót were central to the legitimacy of rulers and Christian rulers refusing to hold them were at times replaced by more willing alternatives and driven out of the land. Smaller, household blót were sometimes recorded as being led by women. Beyond strengthening legitimacy for the ruling elites, the performance of blót was often in order to ensure the fertility of the land, a good harvest and peace, although they are also recorded as being performed for divination or to achieve desired results in legal matters.
The Odinic Rite (OR) is a reconstructionist religious organisation named after the god Odin. It conceives itself as a "folkish" Heathen movement concerned with Germanic paganism, mythology, folklore, and runes. As a white supremacist organization, the Odinic Rite limits membership to white individuals, holding the belief in Heathenry as the ancestral religion of the Indo-European race.
Ásatrúarfélagið, also known simply as Ásatrú, is an Icelandic religious organisation of heathenry. It was founded on the first day of summer in 1972, and granted recognition as a registered religious organization in 1973, allowing it to conduct legally binding ceremonies and collect a share of the church tax. The Allsherjargoði is the chief religious official.
Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th century, its practitioners model it on the pre-Christian religions adhered to by the Germanic peoples of the Iron Age and Early Middle Ages. In an attempt to reconstruct these past belief systems, Heathenry uses surviving historical, archaeological, and folkloric evidence as a basis, although approaches to this material vary considerably.
The Troth, formerly the Ring of Troth, is an American-based international heathen organization. It is prominent in the inclusionary, as opposed to folkish, sector of heathenry. The organization was founded on December 20, 1987 by former Ásatrú Free Assembly members Edred Thorsson and James Chisholm. Chisholm remains associated with the organization as an Elder Emeritus. The current Steer is Lauren Crow.
Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost is a Norse neopagan organisation in Norway. It was founded in 1996 and acts as an umbrella organisation for a number of local groups in Norway.
The Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) is a white nationalist international Ásatrú organization, founded by Stephen A. McNallen in 1994. Many of the assembly's doctrines, heavily criticized by most heathens, are based on ethnicity, an approach it calls "folkish". Once headquartered in Grass Valley, California, with chapters worldwide, the AFA is recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit religious organization.
Religion has been a major influence on the societies, cultures, traditions, philosophies, artistic expressions and laws within present-day Europe. The largest religion in Europe is Christianity. However, irreligion and practical secularisation are also prominent in some countries. In Southeastern Europe, three countries have Muslim majorities, with Christianity being the second-largest religion in those countries. Ancient European religions included veneration for deities such as Zeus. Modern revival movements of these religions include Heathenism, Rodnovery, Romuva, Druidry, Wicca, and others. Smaller religions include Indian religions, Judaism, and some East Asian religions, which are found in their largest groups in Britain, France, and Kalmykia.
Stephen Anthony McNallen is an American proponent of Heathenry, a modern Pagan new religious movement, and a white nationalist activist. He founded the Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA), which he led from 1994 until 2016, having previously been the founder of the Viking Brotherhood and the Asatrú Free Assembly.
The Community of Forn Sed Sweden, formerly the Swedish Asatro Community is a heathen organization founded in 1994.
In the modern Pagan movement of Heathenry there are a number of holidays celebrated by different groups and individuals. The most widely observed are based on ancient Germanic practices described in historical accounts or folk practices; however, some adherents also incorporate innovations from the 20th and 21st centuries.
Modern paganism in Scandinavia is almost exclusively dominated by Germanic Heathenry, in forms and groups reviving Norse paganism. These are generally split into two streams characterised by a different approach to folk and folklore: Ásatrú, a movement that been associated with the most innovative and Edda-based approaches within Heathenry, and Forn Siðr, Forn Sed or Nordisk Sed, a movement marked by being generally more traditionalist, ethnic-focused and folklore-rooted, characterised by a worldview which its proponents call folketro. Forn Siðr may also be a term for Scandinavian Heathenry in general. Vanatrú defines the religion of those individuals or groups in which the worship of the Vanir dominates.
"Heathenry" as it is expressed in Canada is used as a universal term to describe a wide range of Germanic Neopaganism. Those who practice the religions or folk-ways of Ásatrú, Forn Sed, Odinism or Theodism are all considered part of a greater Heathen umbrella. In Canada, Heathenry takes a socially liberal standing in its philosophy. The exclusion of adherents on the basis of ethnic origin, sexual orientation, other group affiliation as well as other discriminatory factors is opposed by most Canadian Heathen groups, although there are, as in the United States a small number of racially minded groups that limit their membership to those of "Nordic ancestry".
The Forn Siðr — Ásatrú and Vanatrú Association in Denmark is a Danish nationwide religious organisation of the followers of Forn Siðr, the contemporary revival of Norse paganism and culture.
Heathenry in the United Kingdom consists of a variety of modern pagan movements attempting to revive pre-Christian Germanic religiosities, such as that practised in the British Isles by Anglo-Saxon and Nordic peoples prior to Christianisation.
The Nordic Asa-Community is a Germanic heathen religious organisation founded in Sweden in 2014. Since 2016, it has been the largest heathen organisation in the country.
Mathias Nordvig is a Danish Scandinavian studies scholar. He specialises in Old Norse literature and culture and has studied the impact of volcanoes in Icelandic literature. Holding a PhD title from Aarhus University, he is an assistant professor and head of Nordic Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nordvig has been involved in modern paganism in Denmark and co-hosted the Nordic Mythology Podcast, which is about topics related to the Viking Age and Nordic mythology.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 About Forn Sed Norway (slide presentation), Forn Sed Norge, 2018, retrieved May 21, 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Geir Winje, "Foreningen Forn Sed", Store norske leksikon , December 30, 2014, retrieved May 21, 2021 (in Norwegian).
- 1 2 "Forn Sed Norge: Org nr 983 227 562", PROFF.no, April 27, 2002, retrieved May 21, 2021 (in Norwegian).
- 1 2 3 4 Elise Kruse, "Den sammensatte viking", Vårt Land , July 31, 2017, retrieved May 21, 2021 (in Norwegian).
- ↑ Egil Asprem, "Heathens Up North: Politics, Polemics, and Contemporary Paganism in Norway", The Pomegranate 10.1 (2008) 42–69, doi : 10.1558/pome.v10i1.41, p. 50 (registration required).
- 1 2 Geir Uldal and Geir Winje, "Paganism in Norway", in: Henrik Bogdan and Olav Hammer, eds., Western Esotericism in Scandinavia, Boston: Brill, 2016, ISBN 978-90-04-30241-9, p. 371.
- ↑ Silje Rognsvåg, "Åsatru-folk tar avstand fra Breivik", Dagen , November 20, 2015, retrieved May 21, 2021 (in Norwegian).
- ↑ "Antall tilskuddstellende medlemmer i tros- og livssynssamfunn i 2022" (PDF). www.regjeringen.no. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ↑ Svein Nordal, "Ravn Villtokt etterlyser tilskotsbrev frå Ørsta", Møre-Nytt , February 27, 2021, retrieved May 21, 2021 (in Nynorsk).
- ↑ "Are slo Klaus: Avslutter med norrønt blot", Adresseavisen , October 28, 2014, retrieved May 21, 2021 (in Norwegian).
- ↑ "About ECER", European Congress of Ethnic Religions, retrieved May 21, 2021.
