Ásatrú

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Ásatrú (Icelandic "Æsir faith") is a new religious movement whose focus is reviving the Norse paganism of the Viking Age - as described in the Eddas - prior to the arrival of Christianity.

Adherents of Ásatrú are called Ásatrúarmenn (singular Ásatrúarmaður) in Icelandic (literally "people of Aesir faith"); in English usage, the genitive Asatruar "of Aesir faith" is often used on its own to denote adherents (both singular and plural).

Ásatrú was established in the 1960s and early 1970s in Iceland, by the Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið, an organization founded by Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson. Ásatrú is a religion officially recognized by the governments of Iceland (since 1973), Norway (since 1994), Denmark (since 2003) and Sweden (since 2007). The United States government does not officially endorse or recognize any religious group, but numerous Ásatrú groups have been granted nonprofit religious status going back to the 1970s.^[1]

While the term Ásatrú originally referred specifically to the Icelandic adherents of the religion, Germanic neopagan and reconstructionist groups widely identify themselves as Ásatrú. In this wider sense, the term Ásatrú is used somewhat synonymously with Germanic neopaganism or Germanic paganism, along with the terms Forn Sed, Odinism, Heithni, Heathenry and others.^[2]

Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Etymology 2 History 3 Beliefs & organization 3.1 Goðar 3.2 Kindred 4 Politics 5 See also 6 Notes 7 External links 7.1 Organizations 7.2 Neutral descriptions 7.3 Multi-media /Podcasts

[edit] Terminology

[edit] Etymology

Ásatrú is an Old Norse term consisting of two parts. The first is Ása (genitive of Áss) referring to one of two families of gods in the myths. The second part, trú, means "belief". Thus, Ásatrú means "belief in the Æsir".

Alternatively it is often instead translated as "faith in the Æsir", especially by Americans; possibly because of differing cultural attitudes toward the religion. -tru /-tro can in some contexts be read as "faithful", but the oldest usage of the term Ásatrú /Asetro, and in the common Scandinavian usage, simply means "belief in the gods".

Ásatrúarmaður (plural Ásatrúarmenn) is the Icelandic term used to identify those who practice Ásatrú. In Denmark, the similar Asatroere (with the normal forms Asetroende/Asatroende, meaning "believers in the gods") is used.^{[citation needed]}

The term is the Old Norse/Icelandic translation of Asetro, a neologism coined in the context of 19th century romantic nationalism, used by Edvard Grieg in his 1870 opera Olaf Trygvason. The Icelandic form of the word is first recorded in 1945 in Heiðinn siður á Íslandi ("Heathen traditions in Iceland") by Ólafur Briem. The use of the term Ásatrú for Germanic paganism preceding 19th century revivalist movements is therefore an anachronism.

[edit] History

Ásatrú originated as a second (or third) revival of Germanic paganism in the 1960s and early 1970s. The Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið was founded on summer solstice, 1972, and was recognized as an official religion by the Icelandic government in 1973, largely due to the efforts of Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson. Around this time, Stephen McNallen, a former U.S. Army Airborne Ranger, began publishing a newsletter titled The Runestone independently of the Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið in the United States. He also formed an organization called the Asatru Free Assembly, which was later renamed the Ásatrú Folk Assembly which is still extant. Else Christensen's Odinism, which is sometimes identified with the term Asatru, originated around the same period. An offshoot of McNallen's group is the Asatru Alliance, headed by Valgard Murray, publisher of the "Vor Tru" newsletter. The Asatru Alliance held its 25th annual "Althing" gathering in 2005.^[3]

[edit] Beliefs & organization

[edit] Goðar

A Goði or Gothi (plural goðar) is the historical Old Norse term for a priest and chieftain in Norse paganism. Gyðja signifies a priestess. Goði literally means "speaker for the gods", and is used to denote the priesthood or those who officiate over rituals in Ásatrú. Several groups, most notably the Troth have organized clergy programs[4]. However, there is no universal standard for the Goðar amongst organization, and the title is usually only significant to the particular group they work with.^[4]

[edit] Kindred

A Kindred is a local worship group in Ásatrú. Other terms used are garth, stead, sippe, skeppslag and others. Kindreds are usually grassroots groups which may or may not be affiliated with a national organization like the Asatru Folk Assembly, the Ásatrú Alliance, or the Troth. Kindreds are composed of hearths or families as well as individuals, and the members of a Kindred may be related by blood or marriage, or may be unrelated. The kindred often functions as a combination of extended family and religious group. Membership is managed by the assent of the group.^[5]

Kindreds usually have a recognized Goði to lead religious rites, while some other kindreds function more like modern corporations.

[edit] Politics

Ásatrú organizations have memberships which span the entire political and spiritual spectrum. Many adherents are solitary practitioners who practice their religion alone with their family or a small local community, and are not involved with organized Ásatrú. Despite the wide divergence of beliefs and politics, the sole common denominator amongst adherents of Ásatrú is the goal of reconstructing and practicing the historical pre-Christian religion of the Eddas.

While Ásatrú is generally a tolerant religion, it is sometimes erroneously identified with neo-Nazi and "white power" organizations which also use the same symbolism.^[6] The three largest American Ásatrú organizations have specifically denounced any association with racist groups.^[7][8][9] There is actually an antagonistic relationship between many neo-Nazis and the membership of most Ásatrú organizations in the USA, who view "National Socialism as an unwanted totalitarian philosophy incompatible with freedom-loving Norse paganism".^[10]

The often problematic association comes from the fact that among neo-Nazis, there tend to be specifically 'white power' forms of Ásatrú and Odinism, which are viewed in such groups as being important attempts to retrace early segments of white European history, especially amongst those who view Christianity as a fundamentally Judaic religion. Associations with paganism, heathenry, stereotypical Vikings and other such "old ways" have always been popular in romantic movements, and as such were adopted by the early racialist precursors of National Socialism, eventually making their way into contemporary neo-Nazism and causing all the contention evident today. It has been primarily in the past sixty years, however, that such associations have become specifically and significantly problematic.^[11]

[edit] See also

• Germanic neopaganism
• Polytheistic reconstructionism
• Nine Noble Virtues

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

[edit] Organizations

[edit] Neutral descriptions

• Asatru (Germanic Paganism) - ReligionFacts

[edit] Multi-media /Podcasts

• Nine Worlds Radio
• Odin Lives Radio
• Ravencast Podcast
• Spoken Lore Podcast