Modern Germanic Heathenism and its Corruption by Political Extremism

One of the obstacles to the growth of Germanic heathenism is the divide between those who perceive heathenism to be a purely ancestral religion (folkish) and those who regard it as wholly inclusive (universalist). This divide is then further reflected in the political divide between the 'left' and the 'right'. These are both barriers and unnecessary ones at that which impede the growth of Germanic heathenism and place pressure upon individuals to 'choose' a particular path. Those who are on the periphery of heathenism, people who may have an interest but are nor participants may be deterred from exploring heathenism further if they are exposed to the extreme end of either of these factions.

When I say the 'extreme' end I am referring to the following:

1. In folkish heathenism this is best represented by (predominately) American Wotanism, an extremely racist interpretation of heathenism which has and does act as an impetus for extreme political activism, criminality and even terrorist activities. This must not be confused with folkish Odinism or Wodenism (a form of heathenism found primarily in England).

2. Universalist Asatru which minimalises the importance of race and ethnicity and thus of ancestry itself, downgrading heathenism into an eclectic 'pick and mix' religion along the lines of 'Wicca'.

The animosity felt by both extremes to each other does a great deal of harm to the perception of heathenism amongst outsiders. Both extremes denigrate the faith of the other and each claims to be the only genuine interpreter of modern heathenism. This is a form of religious supremacism and reminds me of the centuries old conflict between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, both claiming to be the only valid interpreter of the Christian religion. This should not surprise us as the people engaged in the revival of modern heathenism are mainly products of 20th century thinking and have not yet learned to shed themselves of centuries of Christian intolerance.

The 'intolerance' that I speak of is to be found in both extremes of heathenism. The 'Wotanist' contingent intermingle a false interpretation of National Socialism (Hollywood uniform fetishism) with heathenism and a dash of Italian fascism. This unholy concoction damages our religion and marginalises it in the minds of the public, playing straight into the hands of those who would see our revival fail. Heathenism is thus viewed as being the religion of 'neo-nazis' and 'white supremacists'. The extreme universalists by engaging in neo-liberal politics also damage our religion as many outsiders who do not share their political views then dismiss heathenism as a tree hugging religion intended only for feminists, lesbians and those who seek an open border policy allowing our land to be flooded by yet more third world immigrants, thus creating the conditions for our eventual biological displacement. The universalist interpretation is largely revisionary as they project their western neo-liberal values onto an age and people who would deem their worldviews to be alien and inimical to the welfare of the folk.

Both the 'neo-nutzis' and the neo-liberals at both extremes of heathenism endanger it by their blending of it with their own personal political views. Both extremes make a laughing stock of our religion and cause many to keep their distance from it. Politics dilutes the religion and causes it to have a nasty 'smell'. We must strive as individuals to separate our political ideals from our heathen practices and beliefs. We must be aware that many people not only do not hold extreme political beliefs but may not be interested in politics at all.

It is unfortunate for us that Germanic heathenism first started to really grow in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s and thus our concept of it in England and in northern Europe generally is to a large extent framed by American thought. I have already commented many times in the past on my previous blogs that North Americans, especially those in the United States are inflicted by a strange neurosis, almost a pathology of sorts which I have termed the 'Pilgrim Fathers Complex'. For a country which is supposedly secular by constitution unlike northern Europe it is a hotbed of Christian fanaticism and fundamentalism and this to a certain extent is reflected in American Wotanism and Odinism. How much of our practices are actually Germanic in nature and how much is simply a 20th century American Hollywood view of 'Viking' religion, heavily coloured by Christian morality?  A very early heathen movement started by Stephen McNallen in 1969 was given the rather embarrassing name of the Viking Brotherhood. Fortunately this eventually became the more appropriately named Asatru Free Assembly.

Often in England Germanic heathenism is given the appellation of 'Odinism' or 'Wodenism'. This again is an Americanism and it should be recognised that our ancestors never called their religion by these terms. In all honesty we do not know what our ancestors called their pre-Christian religion and it may not have even had a specific term as to them religion embraced all stages and aspects of life and was not considered to be something which was kept separate. Whilst there undoubtedly was a 'cult of Odin' or Woden this did not embrace all of heathenism but was just one aspect of it. It is a fallacy to term Odin or Woden as the 'father of the Gods'. This is a rather late development and there is no evidence at all of any early primacy of this deity. Indeed in Norway and in Iceland (largely colonised by Norwegians) it was Thor who was regarded as the most popular and older of the deities.

By focusing almost exclusively upon the cult of Odin or Woden we are in effect cutting ourselves off from the great richness and diversity of heathenism. As with the Celts the Germanic peoples had many deities, some of whom were specific to a certain tribe or a location such as a mountain or river. Thus by naming our religion Odinism or Wodenism we are giving the outside world an impression that we are simply just another brand of monotheism as opposed to polytheism. I believe that this is in large part due to the American genesis of Germanic modern heathenism which is in my opinion heavily tainted by Christian monotheism. If one wishes to give a further name to Germanic heathenism then Asatru ('faith in the Gods') is as good as any. However it could be argued that even this term is not all inclusive if one takes a particular interpretation of who the Aesir are. For those who follow the Vanir deities there is of course the term Vanatru. My preference is just to call it heathenism. The fact that very few females are drawn to Odinism is no doubt down to the male-centric nature of the religion. There is far too much emphasis placed upon the male Gods and lacks a perception of balance. We need to see a little less of the 'warrior' emphasis and more of the nurturer and the mystic.

An example of Christian influence upon Odinism is the formulation of the 'Nine Noble Virtues' which owes more to the North American pioneers of the 'wild west' and the Judeo-Christian 10 commandments than it does to our ancient Germanic ancestors. The codification of belief is not Germanic but Judaic.