Can an Agnostic/Atheist also be Asatru?

Question

I feel VERY strongly drawn to the Male based,Germanic pagan religions,but I have heard that Asatru and Odinism are polytheistic in the literal sense of the word and I have a hard time with accepting a literal entity as a higher power,can anyone help with this?

I had considered placing my question in the religion category,but the majority of pagans post here.

Black Aliss,I am starting to wonder if resonating so strongly with the symbols and deities of Asatru is a type of gnosis in and of itself?thank you for pointing this out.

Answer 1

It is not possible to be athiest/agnostic and be Asatru or any other religion at the same time. With the strength of the pull you have indicated it sound to me like you had adopted Athiesm as a way to seek a path taht suited you better than the one you left for Athiesm. As to Asatru being Male based, that is a common misconception. More information on the male deities and their worshi survived becase after the conversions, much of the information concerning the female aspects that could be found were destroyed. The rest was inaccessible to the male scribes who were given the task of recording the religious beliefs and practices of the newly conquered Germanic pagans.

Answer 2

No, you absolutely cannot be an atheist and be Asatru at the same time. The very word Asatru means faith in the Æsir. Asatru is Polytheist (The worship of or belief in more than one God / Goddess) and Animist (The belief in the existence of individual spirits that inhabit natural objects and phenomena). We believe that the Gods are real and living beings.

Also, I would like to point out, Asatru is not a "male based" religion, I don't know where you have gotten your information from but it obviously wasn't from someone who actually practices the religion. In Asatru you have both male and female deities.

Answer 3

I do not think it is possible to be Asatru and be an atheist/agnostic. As stated by Lokesanna Asatru means "True to the Aesir" It is indeed a polytheistic religion. There is also an animistic aspect to the belief system, with the inclusion of land wights. Many who are heathen or specificaly Asatru, were drawn to the faith by an experience of gnosis (upg) where the Aesir or Vanir have visited them through dream, meditiation, or other medium. We are Polytheists, because we have experienced unique personal gnosis, of one if not several in the Pantheon, and we haven't the folly to deny our own senses. As a heathen I do not view the Aesir & Vanir as a "higher power" I view them as more like ancestor spirits, Kin if you will, who have endured the ages, by doing so have earned the right to sit at the high seat. Not every heathen nor asatruar will agree with me, this is my personal perception through my practice of the faith...

Answer 4

Regardless of what some people may think, atheist Asatruar exist. They are in the scene among other Asatruar. Read more: http://www.haxton.org/atheistAsatrurar.html