different groups of heathens ?

[Rachel]

Can some one enlighten me as to the differences between the following groups and where i may find information regarding them.

Odnists

Asatru

Folkish

Any other groups of heathens i may not know exists or have forgotten to mention.

Thank you kindly,
Rachel

[Psychonaut]

Out of all of these, only Odinists would count as a distinct group, since pretty much everyone who uses that label is a member of the Odinic Rite (http://www.odinic-rite.org/) (I think the majority of the Apricity's Heathens are OR members).

The term Ásatrú was coined by the composer Edvard Grieg in the 1800s. It was later adopted by the Ásatrúarfélagið (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81satr%C3%BAarf%C3%A9lagi%C3%B0) of Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sveinbj%C3%B6rn_Beinteinsson) in Iceland. It's used in North America by the AFA (http://www.runestone.org/) and AA (http://www.asatru.org/). Some Heathens who identify as Odinists have a negative view of the term Ásatrú and associate it with Universalism, although I'm not sure why.

The term folkish is an Anglicization of the German word völkisch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkisch). It is normally used to distinguish a group of Heathens as viewing ancestry as a necessary component for practicing Heathenry. It stands in opposition to the Universalism of groups like The Troth (http://www.thetroth.org/) who have Black clergy.

[Rachel]

Thank you for that,

i mean no offense but isn't ancestry important in all of the above mentioned groups of Heathenry ?

[Psychonaut]

i mean no offense but isn't ancestry important in all of the above mentioned groups of Heathenry ?

Not so for the Troth and other Universalist groups. Here's a quote from their website (http://www.thetroth.org/welcome-troth):


We welcome all heathens regardless of race, gender, or sexuality, and we will make room on the bench in our halls for you.

[Skandi]

This is a post I have posted elsewhere before, but I think it may answer a few questions, even if they are not quite the questions you asked :p


Folkish:
Folkish Heathens believe that in order to practise Heathenry one must be of either English/Germanic/Scandinavian decent or adopted to such a community. For some those who are not of European decent may become part of the community by adoption or blood-sib oath. Like tribalists there is a strong focus on building a strong community.
Example; The Odinic Right, Astru Alliance

Tribalism:
focused on rebuilding cohesive, interdependent communities structured around strict adherence to the Heathen thew of our ancestors, these denominations tend to have hierarchical social structures based on the commutates modal of the Anglo-Saxons and Normans, and tend to be somewhat conservative.
examples Thaet Angelsaxisce Ealdriht and Normanni Thiud.


Theodish Heathenry:
Theodish heathens are bound together within the tribe by a web of oaths, and have a strict hierarchy all theods are tribalist but not all tribalists are Theodish.

Universalist:
More liberal than other types of heathens Unis tend to put their definition on the individual rather than the tribe and are more tolerant of outside influences and some see Heathenry as a Neo-Pagan belief.
Example; many of the Troth

These aren't my definitions but are paraphrased from Galina Krasskova

[Psychonaut]

As an addendum, some Universalists are prone to saying, "It doesn't matter if we theoretically would accept those of non-Northwestern descent. They're not interested in Heathenry anyway!" The Rheinwood Hearth (http://rivergarth.blogspot.com/2009/05/rheinwood-hearth-walburg-2009.html) is one group where you can see the disastrous effects of Universalism in action. Does something look out of place here? Might someone in this group be hailing a completely different set of ancestors than everyone else? Might a completely different set of tribal Gods be vying for the allegiance of a certain member?

http://www.theapricity.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2666&stc=1&d=1253394261

http://www.theapricity.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2665&stc=1&d=1253394261