How many in the US practice the norse religion.?

Question

Odinism
Asatru ect

ancient scadinavian/germanic pagan religion

I'm Catholic, and not in prison yet anyway but perhaps soon my Church will be outlawed in your country.

I'm in Scandinavia

Answer 1

There has been quite an active upswing in the numbers of Americans interested in Asatru, Odinism, and Germanic Heathenry. The Ring of Troth is a very large Scholarly Heathen organization that has its roots in the US. Asatru Folk Assembly (not asatru free assembly) & Asatru Alliance are folkish groups that tend to allow more of the riff raff in (such as neo nazi's and prison inmates) however there are many many kindreds of all shapes & sizes, ranging from universal Germanic practice to very specific regional practice (such as Norwegian, or Icelandic, etc) where they draw only upon the lore from a specific area. Sorry that I do not have a number for you, I am pretty sure that it is not a choice on the census in the religion section. The US military will not put a Mjollnir or an algiz rune or a valknut on the grave marker of a fallen Heathen soldier, but then again they won't put a pentacle on them for a wiccan either...(and Wicca is actually in the Chaplin’s guide)

And to the person who said he was wiccan & that was close enough... needs to read a little bit more... wicca & heathenry are NOT the same not even similar. wicca tends to be a more ecstatic practice ( with a lot of naked dancing and chanting & ceremonial add on’s) where heathenry is a votive style in that you respectfully toast the gods & ancestors (fully clothed) and the rituals (blot & sumble) tend to be short & sweet with out all of the trappings of ceremonialism. (no circle cast, no quarter calls, no fivefold kiss,not a lot of traipsing about with incense, salt water, athames etc.) The heathen's tools are few and practical to carry with them, a Mjollnir ~Thor's hammer~ for the "hammer hallowing" and a horn - for drinking & offering toasts to the gods, ancestors, land wights etc. Wiccans tend to be pantheist's (believing that all gods are archetypes or thought forms and are universally the same pantheon to pantheon) where as heathens tend to be polytheists (believing that each god is an individual with their own personality, and is very real, not merely a thought form or archetype), and that even though the Germanic pantheons have gods which performed similar functions to the people who venerate them as the gods of say the Celtic pantheon, Dagda & Odin are two very different patriarchs! They are not "one & the same" as many wiccans would have you believe)

Answer 2

more than you think as there are several books out about this Ancient Religion. Don't have the book with me at the moment but it should be available through the internet. Interesting as it is very similar to other Ancient Religious Practices.

Answer 3

The estimates I have heard are usually around a few thousand. It's not too many. They're divided between racialist, "folkish" types, and the more "universalist" types -- the former's largest group is the Asatru Free Assembly, the latter is the Troth. They tend to call themselves "Heathens" here, generically; "Asatru" are Heathens who draw from Norse sources, but there are also Heathens who draw primarily from Anglo-Saxon and Germanic sources, and they're also often called "Theodish," from the Anglo-Saxon word for "tribe."

As C.S. Lewis said, when you stop believing in Christianity, you don't believe nothing -- you believe anything.

Answer 4

Aren't about 30 people in Iceland all that's left of Odinism? But, I did subscribe to "The Mighty Thor" comic book as a boy, wanted my own Uru hammer Mjolnir, wanted a date with that hot babe Freya, and thought the All-Father's eye patch was pretty cool. So I'm at least a fan of Odin, and partying in the Hall of Heroes in Valhalla is a lot more my style than standing around singing hosannas and telling Jesus how gorgeous he is in the new Jerusalem.

Answer 5

yeah, with the way the protestants are running things here in the US they seem to all be for outlawing other religions, even though it goes against our core foundation as a country

Answer 6

Alot. I don't know how many. There is a large and active kindred not far from me. They are good people, if a bit neo-conservative politically.

Answer 7

I have been studying it for a year

Answer 8

What is the norse religion. Sound something like nose religion?!

Answer 9

It is becoming popular in prisons.
Where are you writing from?

Answer 10

which country is this? and I am wiccan if thats close enough