How far does Freedom of Religion extend? (especially like to hear from Asatru's)?

Question

"An inmate is suing the Utah Department of Corrections for denying him his right to practice an ancient Nordic religion while behind bars.

Michael Polk is serving time for aggravated assault and robbery. He filed a lawsuit against corrections officials in federal court, accusing them of denying him religious items that he says are necessary to practice the Asatru religion.

The religion worships ancient Nordic gods like Odin, Thor, Tyr and Heimdal.

In the lawsuit, Polk says he has been a member of the Asatru faith since 2005, and in order to properly practice it he needs items including: a Thor's Hammer, a prayer cloth, a Mead Horn used for drinking Wassail, a drum made of wood and boar skin, a rune staff and a sword."

The question is - how far does the freedom of religion extend?

And, if you are Asatru - are these accoutrements really necessary for the practice of your faith, or is this guy just a criminal whack-job?

Answer 1

It is a fact that many many people are coming into contact with Asatru while in prison. Is this good? Is it bad? Well... People who revert to Asatru while in prison have THE lowest recidivism rate of any ... let me put some emphasis on that... ANY demographic. That isn't to say that there's no recidivism, because there is, our demographic just happens to be the lowest.

My brother, Ragnar, encountered Asatru while serving a life sentence in San Quentin. He served 16 years of that life sentence, and was released. He properly served his probation, and the day after his probation was over, he was undertaking his right of manhood, wherein he ritually received his shield and weapons. As a testament to the kind of man Ragnar was, it was his former parole officer who asked Ragnar's Godhi if it would be acceptable that he could be the one to present Ragnar with his shield and weapons. Was Ragnar representative of all Asatru former inmates? ... Probably not. He was one-of-a-kind in many many ways.

To get back to my original point... almost all Asatruar who first encounter Asatru in prison encounter it amongst the neo-Nazi crowd. White folks who follow white Gods, and twist the religious views to allow them to dehumanize all other races (anyone who truly knows me, religiously, knows I'm Folkish, and not racist). Many of these neo-Nazi types (Nazitruar) will further attempt to use the religion and tradition in order to attempt to gain special treatment from the prison system.

So... Mr. Polk feels that since he's Asatru, he deserves special treatment from the prison system.

Mikeypoo... it doesn't work that way.

1: What the Hel does he need a "prayer cloth" for? Is he going to point it North East, so he can roughly face Uppsala while he's at it? Further... where is a "prayer cloth" anywhere in Asatru?
2: He doesn't need a Thor's Hammer. Thor's Hammers are representative symbols to denote your faith in the Gods. They're not integral portions of the religion, nor are they strictly necessary for ritual or blot. It's something he wants, not something he needs.
3: Mead Horn... hate to break the news to him, but he won't be drinking much mead while incarcerated. And again... a mead horn is a nice traditional accoutrement. He doesn't need it for ritual, but it's certainly nice to have. If he wants the nice things, he needs to do his time, behave, get out, and get them then.
4: Drums are not part of the religious practices. They are part of the feminine magical practices of Seidhr. While we may, today, see the benefits of the shamanic Seidhr practices for men and women, if he's truly as traditional as he's trying to portray himself... he will want to steer clear of it. Further, Seidhr is not part of the religion. It's part of the shamanic magical practices of the people which is separate from the religion. One does not have to be a Spae in order to practice Asatru.
5: Rune Staff... even many Godhar outside of prison don't have a Rune staff. It's not necessary, it's just a nice accoutrement. He doesn't need it. He wants it.
6: A sword. Let me start by saying :)) . He funny guy! If he wanted to carry weapons... he should have thought about that before committing the crime to get himself put in prison. Next, carrying a weapon is a privilege. Not a religious right. We are certainly exhorted to never be away from our weapons while in the field... but he's rather exempt from that, isn't he? He's in PRISON! No sympathy from this end.

So... good luck to him and all... but don't expect him to get very far.

As a Thor's Godhi... I would deny him these things based solely on the fact he's incarcerated.
Do the crime, do the time, don't whine.

How far does freedom of religion extend?
In prison, he's free to believe whatever he feels is right... Religious PRACTICE, however, should only extend as far as is reasonable within the confines of his situation. He's making unreasonable requests, and further, he KNOWS he's making unreasonable requests.

Answer 2

Some might say they are necessary, but I and others I know who are also Norse Pagans/Heathens would call BS. Material objects are not necessary to connect to the Gods. He can pray without those things. I can understand why the prison is denying him those objects...the hammer and the sword could be used as weapons, as could the staff, and the drum could cause a disruption especially if he decided to play it at inopportune times. The horn, again, could be used as a weapon. I see nothing wrong with him having a prayer cloth though. The other stuff...yeah, the guy is full of it. He's basically asking for stuff that he can use to break out and by claiming he's Asatru he can cry religious discrimination if the prison refuses him those things. Utter BS. If he were really Asatru he would understand that one doesn't need all that crap in order to remain in touch with the Gods.

Answer 3

Asatru is a legitimate religion, and those items can be part of the practice, however you can't give a prisoner a weapon. You can't even bring a weapon like a sword into a prison. What if one of the other inmates got a hold of it? While they should accommodate his requests *within reason*, demanding a sword is unreasonable. As for the drum, Thor's hammer, and Prayer cloth, and even the mead horn, I don't see a problem. The sword and staff can too easily me misused as weapons.

Now, is he doing this because he knows his requests will be ignored, and he wants to cry "Religious Persecution?"

Answer 4

We have a prison outreach in our area and we have to work around what is allowed and not allowed to prisoners. A Thor's Hammer is usually a cardboard made "hammer" and a cup substitutes for a drinking horn.

They can work around the rules because tools aren't necessary. I agree with his wishes, though. By stating what tools are required of his religion, he's making it legitimate, in a way. Asatru doesn't have a "holy" book, nor a cross - to help legitimize the religion, he's probably using the demand for tools to help.

On the other hand - dude, lose the request for the sword. I don't think they'll even give him a ruler as a substitute. LOL

Surprisingly, there's a pretty decent population of Asatru in Utah - go figure.

Answer 5

All of those things are not required to practice Asatru. I think they can get by with a cup of juice (perferably apple) and a small Hammer pendant. They certainly do not need "altar cloths" and swords, etc. Those are nice but not mandatory. The focus is libation through blot and sumbel.

Try the website of the Asatru Folk Assembly.

http://www.runestone.org

They have a good online basic introduction primer on Asatru for beginners:

http://www.runestone.org/introduction/primer.html

Answer 6

Fredom of religion means that you may believe anything that you want and you may worship freely so long as it does not impinge upon the freedom of others.

The problem in these prison scenarios is that believers claim they are required to possess many physical items...which is usually not the case. Think about your own religions, whatever that may be. How many items are _required_ for practice? Most Christians would really like a Bible, but even that isn't _required_ (although prisons don't usually object to written materials).

I'm not sure if these cases most often come from believers not understanding their own faith or people just trying to get attention and cause the prison trouble. I've heard about Wiccans in prison insisting on posessing a knife to use as an athame. It's a standard part of Wiccan ceremony, but it's not required. Candles are a standard part of many Christian ceremonies, but would any Christian say they're required?

Answer 7

Well, firstly, I don't care what someone practices -- you don't give swords or sharp objects to violent criminals who are incarcerated and who could very well use a staff or a sword (or a horn for that matter) to hurt others. Dur. I'm Pagan, not Asatru, but pagan nonetheless. I know for a fact that he can practice his faith without any of those things. I mean - he could probably be given the a prayer cloth and a necklace with a Thors Hammer pendent (those are harmless and can't be used to hurt someone else), but the rest he can easily do without. The religion isn't about the implements used to practice it. It's about the belief and the relationship between the individual and deity that matters.

Answer 8

Well, as another practitioner of a reconstructed faith system, on one hand, I agree that he should be more than welcome to practise whatever religion he sees fit, but at the same time, I'm pretty sure that serious adherents of Asatru (like serious adherents of Hellenismos) are at least somewhat familiar with concepts of living by the law of the land, excepting times of war -- so, yeah, if he really believes that he "needs" these things that can be made possible weapons within the Utah State prison system, then he probably should have thought about that before committing the crime that landed him behind bars, as the safety of the other prisoners should always come first.

Now, in 2007, it was ruled in Washington state that Asatru prisoners were allowed to keep and wear Thor's hammer medallions -- yes, a small trinket worn on a cord around the neck. Considering his situation, this should be a more than reasonable compensation

Also, just as "Hellenismos" can be used as a pretty broad term encompassing many diverse beliefs and practises that centre around reviving the religious reverence of the Gods and Goddesses of ancient Greece, "Asatru" is used to describe a wide array of practises and beliefs encompassing revived Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic polytheistic practises. He may call it "Asatru", but there is no single defining text saying "yes, one absolutely needs all these things to practise this religion". There are some Asatruar who are living just fine with a very minimal collection of ritual items, and all of which would be considered "safe" to prisons, while other Asatru practitioners may have a more elaborate collection -- as a polytheist in general, I can say that at least the Gods *I* pay cultus to are very understanding to situations when I've lacked the resources for more elaborate items (in fact, I've only recently been able to afford statuary, which many Hellenists consider an essential part of their shrines and altars). If having such ritual items was that important to him, then perhaps he should have thought of that before committing assault and robbery, since it's probably a lot easier to just *not* have to worry about filing suit to have a law clarified.

I don't necessarily think he's a "criminal whack-job", per se, but I do imagine that he's probably very bored and wants something to do. If he was a serious Asatruar, he'd probably be happy with a prayer cloth, a few books, and citing that case that allows a Thor's Hammer pendant -- of course, this *is* Utah we're talking about, so who knows? Like it or not, Mormons still have a pretty heavy sway up there. I was once out with a friend in Salt Lake Shitty, him with an orange Mohawk and me with a pink and purple one, and we had a county sheriff following my friend's car for ten miles outside the city limit, just waiting to ticket us for anything -- hell, he probably would have pulled us over and accused us of stealing the car if it wasn't for the fact that it was an old '85 Toyota covered in Dead Kennedeys and The Clash stickers with a piece of heavy-duty clear plastic where the driver-side rear window should have been..

Answer 9

it is unreasonable to believe that there could not be a compromise reached in which this man could safely practice his religion with these objects. The prison could hold these items for him in a locker and provide them to him in a solitary room where he could use them under supervision and then peace bond them all and step away from them when finished. Freedom of religion should and must be absolute otherwise it is not freedom, not a right but rather a "privilege" which the state can allow or not allow at will thus creating a system where the state can determine which religions can be practiced legally thus making them an ad hoc state sponsored practice.
For example the way the state forced the LDS to ban polygamy... this is not something that actually would happen if we really had freedom of religion.

Answer 10

The official stance on the practicing of religion in prison was resolved via a supreme court case. The verdict was, an inmate can believe whatever they want to, but if the practice of the religion interferes with the security of the institution, then the practicing can be prohibited.

This came about after some inmates started a new religion called the Church Of New Sons, or CONS, in which they demanded that a harem of women be supplied them and fresh lobster and steak be served every friday, per their newly made holy text.