Jared Anderson

Dr. Kim Gunter

English 3400-101
3 October 2010

Nordic Heathenism
a Ásatrú: The Religion of the Norn
Ásatrú is the Nordic word for “belief in many gods” and is considered to be the

true religion of northern European lands. It is connected to Celtic Druidism, Wicca, and

Germanic Paganism as well as ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian beliefs. Its origin has

been long lost but before the Christianization of land in the early 1st century, the Ásatrú

faith covered all of Northern Europe. Unlike its sisters, Wicca and Celtic druidism, which

branched off into several different religions, Ásatrú has been reconstructed to follow the

historic beliefs as closely as possible. The followers of the faith even prefer to be called

traditional pagans rather than the title “Neopagan” that so often follows those that live the

Hedonistic lifestyle. This religion follows the radical decline of Christianity in the world

and the popularity of reverting to ones traditions based on their ancestors. As Ásatrú

becomes more prevalent, it also gains the recognition as being a “drafted” religion, or in

other words, publically accepted and tolerated. As the religion’s popularity rises, many

1
Logo courtesy of the Ásatrú Alliance: copyright (c) 1995 by Stephen A. McNallen
followers believe that it is the proper religion for Europe as it is strongly connected to the

culture and traditions of the lands.

Historically, in an attempt to remove all other “pagan” religions, Christians would

wipe out entire villages in a brutality. The most common to the Americas is the

desolation of the Aztec and Mayan Indians. Almost all of their culture and religion was

either wiped away or converted to forms of Christianity. The people were forced to

change religions, and those who did not were put to death or enslaved by the

conquistadors. This same act of “eliminating the competition” occurred in the lands of

Northern Europe. It was far more devastating, however, because the tribal rituals of the

Norn only spoke of the tales of the gods. The Christian invaders did not have to burn

hundreds of scrolls or destroy encrypted tablets containing religious information; instead,

they simply killed those who did not convert. The people did not give up so willingly,

however. Only after years of bloodshed and the threat of economic isolation did the

people finally submit. It was a tactic for survival and many insist that it is by the gods

that the religion has survived.

Perhaps the most obvious discord between the Christian faith and Northern

Europeans is the location. Christianity was a faith that was drafted, created and originally

practiced in the Middle East. This land and its people differ greatly from that of

Scandinavia, Iceland and Germany from the terrain to the climate and simply the tactics

of survival that surround the people. Northern Europeans deal with mountains, terrible

seas laden with ice, and frigid winters in which they must survive. The people of the

Norn established a lifestyle that relied greatly on personal strength and perseverance; it

was a true testament to mankind’s ability to not only survive, but thrive as well.
 This strength relates to foundation and relationship between man and the gods.

Ásatrú followers do not pray to the gods as many established religions do; instead there is

nobility amongst the two as kin rather than master and servant. One does not come

humbly to the gods, begging and pleading for a better life. There is mutuality between the

gods and man, both are equally important to each other and must rely on their own

strength to overcome obstacles.

The Ásatrú faith differs from most religions in that it is polytheistic, or a belief in

many gods. The gods, such as Odin and Thor, derive from Nordic mythology and many

of the predictions and origin stories are the same. These heroes give the followers of the

faith a sense of epic standing in the world, as the gods gave the Vikings strength to

conquer the seas, believers today find strength to conquer the storms of life.

The main function of Ásatrú is to ensure the nine noble virtues: Courage, Truth,

Honor, Fidelity, Discipline, Hospitality, Industriousness, Self-Reliance and

Perseverance. It also focuses greatly on the importance of the family. The religion is

founded on a tribal sense, so the importance of remaining in touch with all members of

your “clan” is essential to the formulation and community of the belief.

The final goal of the Ásatrú is to eliminate the discriminations of the world such

as race, sex, ethnicity, culture and mainly religion. Religious tolerance is highly

important, as the death of the Ásatrú is due to the Christianization of Europe; followers

now strive to communicate the wish that people simply search the facts and their own

heart and make a personal decision whether to join the belief or deny it.

Since the Christian faith was influenced, forced upon the people and in some

cases, adopted for economic purposes, the reconstruction of the religion also is a great
attempt to reunite the culture of Scandinavia, Norway, Germany, Iceland and Scotland

with the religion upon which these lands were originally operated. It is not an argument

or situation of religious intolerance; instead it is simply a desire to reconnect with the

ways of the past. If our homeland was to be raided and forced into a religion that we

know nothing about, it would be a desire, once religious tolerance was permitted, to

obtain the original beliefs that many of our forefathers believed in. Those that connect

with the ways of the Norn also desire to follow the religion that empowered their

ancestors.

To many, the main relation with the Ásatrú religion lays with the Vikings. This

being said, one may think that the religion conveys a sense of violence. In all historical

accuracy, the Vikings were no more brutal than most other tribes. Remember, the

historical records given of the Vikings were only ever written by their enemies; their

stories were never written by Norsemen, as most of their literature was a spoken

revelation. The religion would not condone the old ways, as they are no longer needed for

survival and prosperity; in fact, the religion never taught these attributes.

Ásatrú is the pure form of religious freedom, joy and communion with nature.

Many will openly convey that their religion also holds these standards true, but if we look

closer, we realize that there is great fallacy to those claims. Christianity expresses that all

men are free, but in turn commands them to be slaves to a ruling god. Ásatrú believes that

man and the gods are equal and influence each other; men protect the gods’ divinity as

thegods protect men. Christianity also implements the condemning truth of original sin

(guilt at birth). This suggests that inevitably all mankind is immediately damned the very

instant they enter the world. Such a belief eliminates the concept of joy and happiness
and forces its followers into a spiral of demise, which is later “rejuvenated” through

servant-hood to the one god. Ásatrú believes in virtues that teach how to live in harmony

with all of the world rather than commandments. It teaches that man is good until he

proves himself evil. This is the connection between the Anglo-Saxon laws and teachings

of equality and fair trials. Even the word “law” comes from the Norse.

Many also think, due to the Northern European connection, that the religion is

solely a “Whites-only” community. This is also falsified by the teaching of equality and

tolerance for all walks of life. The foundations are so closely related to those of Germanic

Paganism and Celtic Druidism that it does connect with all of Europe, whether or not one

shares a direct ancestry from Scandinavia. The religion is for those that find the greatest

comfort from it, strive to better themselves and are not afraid to find strength in

themselves rather than rely on others to fix things for them. It reaches out to those

directly connected with the Venir, or the fertility of the earth (nature) and have a

connection, or desire, to honor the ways of their ancestors.

 a Works Cited

Asatru Alliance, Jack. "Welcome to the Asatru Alliance. Welcome Home." Asatru

Alliance | Homepage. Longship Studio, 2010. Web. 02 Oct. 2010.

<http://www.asatru.org/index.php>.