RaceReligion, ASATRU
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Race and Religion
Asatru is not a racist religion. Anyone who wants to be in Asatru should be in Asatru. And the
word "anyone" means just that: anyone - regardless of race, color, ethnicity, national origin,
language, sexual orientation, or other divisive criteria. Today, we live in a multi-ethnic nation
(not to mention a multi-ethnic world). As Asatru advances, it will inevitably become more and
more a multi ethnic religion.
But, unfortunately, some people seem to think that Asatru is a racist religion. Why? Probably
because there have been some people in Asatru who were racists and some of these have tried to
use Asatru as a front for their racist views, claiming that it was somehow an exclusively
"Nordic" religion, only open to those of "pure Aryan" descent. However, the existence of a few
racists does not make Asatru a racist religion. Almost every religion has had some racists in it at
one time or another. In Sri Lanka, for example, there are some Buddhists who are so racist that
they have recently been killing the ethnic-minority Tamils in their country, but that does not
make Buddhism a racist religion.
Another reason some might think that Asatru is a racist religion is confusion and
misunderstanding about the "Scandinavian Connection" of Asatru. The truth about this is simply
that the Aesir and the Vanir were followed longer in northern Europe than elsewhere, and thus
we know about them from there. That is the reason why we use the Old Norse names for the
Deities and other terms, and are so interested in pre-Christian Scandinavia. It is fine for those of
northern European descent to seek out their cultural roots, but no single ethnic group "owns" the
Gods of Asgard.
Some people have suggested that the ancient inhabitants of northern Europe believed in racial
exclusivity, in other words that they were racists. I do not believe this. However even if it was
true - it does not matter. Just because a person's remote ancestors might have been racists is no
reason for that person to be a racist today. If one's great-grandfather was an arsonist, one need
not and should not follow in his footsteps. (Those interested in the racial attitudes of the Viking-
age Scandinavians should read the article "Race, Religion, and Asatru Today," by Kveldulfr
Gundarsson that appeared in Mountain Thunder, Number 5, Summer 1992. This article shows
that European descent is not necessary for full participation in modern Asatru.)
The characteristics we admire so greatly in the Vikings came about because the Vikings followed
the Aesir and the Vanir - not because they had blue eyes or blond hair. These same
characteristics are available today to anyone who wants to develop them by following the way of
Asatru. It is important to remember that admiration for these attributes is not Eurocentric, it is
universal. Every culture that has ever existed in the world has inherently esteemed the virtues
esteemed by Asatru, including: courage, honor, hospitality, independence (and liberty),
individuality (with self-reliance, and responsibility), industriousness (and perseverance), justice
(including an innate sense of fairness and respect for others), loyalty (to family, friends, and the
society of which one is a part), truthfulness, and a willingness to stand up for what is right.
What makes the Asatru way of life different from that of other religions, is that the Asatru "Code
of Conduct" supports and encourages these virtues far more strongly than do other religions -
some of which actually discourage several of these ideals. People who have the characteristics
we admire acquired them because their culture contains values similar to those of Asatru (in
some cases because their culture was rooted in Asatru. Conversely, people who have
characteristics we dislike come from backgrounds that lack those values because they are no
longer taught. This is a social problem, not a racial one. It has to do with the breakdown of the
family, and the resultant crumbling of all cultural values. It has nothing to do with eye shape, or
hair texture, or skin color.
Asatru is a multi-ethnic religion - not because that might be "politically correct" at this point in
time, but because multi-ethnicity is fundamental to the theology of Asatru. Asgard, home of the
Gods, is multi-ethnic. For example, Magni and Mdhi, the sons of Thorr, are also the sons of
their mother, Jarnsaxa, who is a Jotunn. Who will tell Thorr that his sons should not participate
in something because they are not of "pure" descent? And what of the Vanir? Since the Gods of
Asgard do not worry over these things, the Asatru people of Midgard certainly have no need to
do so.
In the Prose Edda there is a passage about the many names of Odhinn that says:
Tha segir Hair: "Mikil skynsemi er at rifia that vandliga upp, en th er thr that skjtast at segja,
at flest heiti hafa verit gefin af peim atburdh, at sv margar sem eru greinir tungnanna
verldinni, tha thykkjast allar Thidhir thurfa at breyta nafni hans til sinnar tungu til kalls ok
baena fyrir sjlfum sr.
(Snorra Edda, Gylfaginning, XXXII)
Then said High One: "It would take a vast amount of knowledge to cover them all, but it is
swiftest to say, that most of these names have been given (to him) because, the many different
nations speaking different tongues in the world, all wanted to change his name into their own
tongue in order to address and pray (to him) for themselves."
As for the so-called "ethnic descriptions" of the Deities sometimes encountered in the literature,
these resulted from people trying to visualize the unvisualizable. Those who, for example, wrote
about the red beard of Thorr did so because they knew men who had red beards. Does a God
have a beard of any color? (Theologically speaking, the answer is "yes" but only if and when the
God wants a beard, and it would then be any color the God desired. A God does not have human
ethnicity of any kind, and is far more different from any particular human than is that human
from any other human on earth.) A comparison can be made with the "Asian faces" on Japanese
statues of Buddha, who was an Indian, or the blue-eyed paintings of Christ that were so popular
in the European middle ages.
All humans, we believe, descend ultimately from Ask and Embla, who were created by the Gods.
What color were Ask's eyes? What color was Embla's hair? Such questions are ridiculous. Since
all humans are related to each other by blood, (have the same inherent source-potentials - and the
same instinctive longing for the Gods of Asgard who watch over all the peoples of Midgard, not
just some small group of them. Any thinking person, whether or not an Asatru believer, can
logically see that there is no place for racism of any kind in Asatru. Nor has there ever been.
Racism comes from two sources:
1. A psychological fear of anyone who is "different" in any way.
2. A psychological need to find someone to blame (a "scapegoat") for whatever misfortunes
happen to occur.
Neither of these attitudes is logical. In the Old Stone Age, little groups of 20 to 30 inbred humans
lived their lives separated by vast distances from all others of their species. On the rare occasions
when humans from another group happened to be seen, they looked different, and the reaction
was to kill them, or at least to drive them away. Times have changed. We no longer shave with
stone axes. But for some people the Paleolithic mentality lingers on.
In the Modern Age, racists will become more and more isolated from mainstream society (and
reality), living lonely, bitter, and paranoid lives.
Those of us who have spent our lives fighting both alongside and against many of this world's
diverse ethnic groups learned to appreciate the essential similarities of all humans, and to ignore
the superficial differences. Every life is filled with combat situations; physical, mental, and
spiritual. When facing combat, it is always better to pick allies who share with you the Viking
values of Asatru than those who share with you only your skin-color.
This article copyright 1993 by Gamlinginn, reprinted by permission.
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