Pagan Journeys > Paths and Traditions

Asatru/Heathen Discrimination?

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FairyQueen:
Friday I had my Pagan Ethics Dinner (it was successful, but I'll go on more about it in my journal later), and someone in the group, relating it to ethics, brought up ethnic discrimination by those who are Asatru or Heathen. She claimed that these groups demand that you have German/Scandinavian ancestry in order to be part of these traditions. I did some research and found stuff that can be taken either way (on the same page, even).

Can anyone confirm or deny this?

 

Tirya:
Are there some followers of Asatru/Heathenism who require you to be of Germanic or Scandinavian descent to join their groups or blots? Yes.

Is it a hard-and-fast rule that "you must be Germanic/Scandinavian in order to be Asatru/Heathen, period"? No.

Racists, bigots, and narrow-minded people exist in every religion and tradition (pagan and non-pagan alike), but that does not mean that the religion or tradition itself dictates that discrimination - it means that the people are using their religion to justify their personal biases.

Remember - it makes it more convenient when your God hates all the same people that you do.

dragonspring:
I am not so sure that it is always a matter of people being racists, bigots, or narrow-minded.  From what I have seen, Asatru and Heathens seem to place a lot of emphasis on honoring the ancestors so that may be a factor in groups that have these requirements.   

Ghost Wolf:

--- Quote from: Tirya on June 25, 2012, 06:06:32 AM ---

Racists, bigots, and narrow-minded people exist in every religion and tradition (pagan and non-pagan alike), but that does not mean that the religion or tradition itself dictates that discrimination - it means that the people are using their religion to justify their personal biases.

Remember - it makes it more convenient when your God hates all the same people that you do.

--- End quote ---

Tirya, it does not mean that Folkish Heathens are racists and bigots. These terms are thrown around too lightly nowadays. Folkish Heathens believe that one must have a direct line back through one's Ancestors because a major part of Heathen practice has to do with honoring the Ancestors. The Gods actually play less of a role in day to day life than do the Ancestors and the Landvetter.

Going on the racist/bigot logic that modern society dictates, then Native Americans can, likewise, be considered racists and bigots.

It is a matter of culture, not hatred. Folkish Heathens do not hate other's gods, they see their religion as part of a larger cultural context, which is Northern European/Germanic, and can't see why one would want to connect with their gods outside of this context.

Tirya:
There are groups out there who base their "Nordic-only" restrictions on racial bias and hatred, for no other reason than they use their Gods as a way to justify their own biases. As I said, that way of thinking exists in every religion and tradition to some extent, because using the "because God said so" argument is a great way to avoid having to actually address issues. Is it the ONLY reason that groups have exclusionary beliefs? No.

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