Paganism Has Some Dead Ends

Last updated on: August 22, 2016 at 4:44 pm by Jason Mankey

Paganism Has Some Dead Ends 2016-08-22T16:44:00-06:00 Jason Mankey

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’ve always found folkish Heathenry to be a completely inane idea. It’s an idea that completely limits deity (only white people can worship Thor), discounts reincarnation, and completely overlooks how widely diverse most people’s DNA generally is (especially here in the United States). We also all come from the same place (Africa!) which makes the idea even more stupid.

(If you don’t know what folkish means be glad! But most groups today that describe themselves as folkish believe that to worship the Norse gods one must be directly related to the ancient Norse. Thankfully a majority of Heathens do not share these nonsensical views.)

Folkish beliefs are often especially problematic because the racism they contain tends to be subtle. It’s possible to read something from a folkish group and on first glance overlook the casual racism latent in their words. Folkish racism is subtle, and oftentimes clever. I also think a great many people subscribe to folkish beliefs do not believe that they are racist and are generally good people. (For the record, racism is not a word I casually throw around.)

I’ve expressed my dismay before with both folkish Asatru and the Asatru Folk Assembly, but a posting on the organization’s Facebook page this past Sunday night was far from subtle and completely clear in its racism and transphobia:

Today we are bombarded with confusion and messages contrary to the values of our ancestors and our folk. The AFA would like to make it clear that we believe gender is not a social construct, it is a beautiful gift from the holy powers and from our ancestors. The AFA celebrates our feminine ladies, our masculine gentlemen and, above all, our beautiful white children. The children of the folk are our shining future and the legacy of all those men and women of our people back to the beginning. Hail the AFA families, now and always!

I’m sorry, but what the fuck? “Our beautiful white babies?” “Feminine ladies and masculine gentlemen?” It’s racism, transphobia, and some supremely antiquated ideas about gender all in one neat little package! Excuse me while I throw up.

Earlier this year at Many Gods West there was a question during one of the panel sessions about racism and transphobia in our greater community. The answers in reply given by the panel were fine, but their answers also overlooked something I’ve noticed online over the last few years: we simply aren’t allowing the overtly racist or transphobic into our most public spaces. No one’s inviting Stephen McNallen to talk at PantheaCon or ConVocation, and there aren’t folkish blogs here at Patheos Pagan or Pagan Square either. When it comes to race and trans-acceptance many of us are far from perfect, but the majority of us are trying, and that’s a definite step in the right direction.

I think we’ve done a pretty decent job self-policing our spaces over the last few years too. That doesn’t mean every article here and at some of the other bigger blog spots are perfect (far from it, and I know there have been controversial and upsetting articles published here on occasion), but I think we get it right more often than not. I think the organizers of most festivals are aware of what’s acceptable and what’s not in public spaces, and I also believe they try and bring in speakers and ritualists whose values align with most of our greater community. Again, I’m not saying that we as a greater community don’t sometimes make mistakes, but when we do screw things up I believe that we try to fix them and then learn from our mistakes.

Because, seriously, folkish groups and the transphobic are dead ends in our community. Groups who hold these types of views might exist today, but I don’t think they’ll exist in thirty years. When we discuss Paganism when I’m in my seventies groups like the Asatru Folk Assembly are going to be dead and long gone. Racism will still exist in 2046, I’m not naive enough to think otherwise, but the people who hold such views won’t be standing anywhere near our umbrella. I just don’t think that we as a community will allow it.

In thirty years when something as wrong-headed and toxic as the Asatru Folk Assembly’s message above is posted in social media it won’t make my newsfeed or the Wild Hunt because none of us will have friends involved with such groups. The racist and the the transphobic will exist completely in their own little slimy cesspool and when people talk about the Heathen Community such groups will not be counted among that number.

We aren’t where we need to be yet, but we will be, and I think our lifetimes. There are dead ends in Paganism, the AFA are one of them.

________

The AFA is apparently doubling down on their stupidity. I just saw this on their Facebook page*: “You are not misunderstanding. The AFA is not in the practice of policing what people do in their bedrooms but we as an organization are clear in supporting the traditional family. And yes the Asatru is an ethnic religion of European people.”

Shared just in case anyone was wondering if the AFA was welcoming of gays and lesbians. Please go away AFA.

*And I wasn’t looking for it, it was a screenshot in a comment thread.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

August 17, 2016

Looking for "That Moment"

Next Post

August 25, 2016 What is the Pagan Community?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Editorializing Gateways to Paganism Guest Posts Holiday Histories Led Zeppelin News and Views Occult Pagan Pagan TV Club Paganism polytheism Ramble On Reviews Ritual Strange Days Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2026 March 2026 February 2026 November 2025 September 2025 August 2025 April 2025 August 2024 April 2024 February 2024 December 2023 October 2023 August 2023 June 2023 May 2023 January 2023 October 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 April 2012 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which prophet predicted the Babylonian captivity would last 70 years?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jeremiah Ezekiel Isaiah Haggai