Faith, folk and the far right : Racist and anti-racist Heathenry and occultism in Britain

Abstract

Matters of ancestry, race and racism endure within Heathenry, a new religious movement drawing inspiration from the pre-Christian religions of northern Europe. Most Heathens, termed ‘inclusivist’ or ‘universalist’, welcome all with a spiritual interest in the ancient heathen past, regardless of ethnicity, sexuality or gender. But a ‘folkish’ Heathen minority, often identifying as Odinist, centre their thinking around ethnocentricity and heterosexist values. Racist Heathenry requires scrutiny as it has been influential in recent terrorist incidents in the UK, Norway, USA and New Zealand. Faith, folk and the far right offers the first detailed examination of extremist Heathenry and occultism in the UK and how anti-racist Heathens are working actively to counter this discourse. Part I explores the spectrum of Heathen practice today and the historical origins of racist Heathenry in nineteenth century Germanic romanticism and twentieth century folkish nationalism. Part II examines the three main extremist Heathen organisations in the UK, the Odinic Rite, the Odinist Fellowship and Woden’s Folk, and their claims to the ‘authentic’ ‘folk-religion’ of the ‘ancestral’ English. The book extends its discussion to the neo-Nazi occult organization the Order of the Nine Angles (O9A), and the wider racist Heathen cultural scene, focussing on Black Metal music. Part III analyses how anti-racist Heathens are countering racist discourse, from visible protests at far-right rallies to inter-faith forums and an active presence on social media platforms. The book makes an important contribution to the intersecting fields of new religious movements, nationalist history and racist politics.