Who Can Practice Heathenry?

There are theories on this question – Who can practice Heathenry? The problem is that Heathenry is a broad term, much like Asatru, and it encompasses different brands of the same basic belief system. Heathenry is a term used to describe Germanic Neopaganism which is based upon Germanic paganism, the ethnic religion practiced by the Germanic peoples from the Iron Age until Christianization during the Middle Ages. Here are the key words we need to pay attention to. “ethnic religion”. In religious studies, an ethnic religion is a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group. This is different from universalism in which anyone can join in and be a part.

There are far more Heathens out there that believe that Heathenry is an ethnic religion than there are universalists. Most of them will not talk about this because they will be labeled racists by the rest of you who do not feel this way. Here is where I start losing friends. I do not believe in the universalist idea that Germanic Neopaganism or Heathenism is for everyone. At its core Heathens is an ethnic religion based upon the ancestral path of the ancient Germanic tribes. It is tribal in nature and Germanic in ethnicity. That is just a fact and you can deny this all you want, but it is simply true. That does not mean you are excluded from Asatru, Heathenry or whatever you want to call it. On the contrary, anyone who applies themselves can practice any religion they want, and the same is true for Heathenry.

For me, I am a tribalist and reconstructionist Heathen. I do not agree with the folkish “whites only” policies nor the universalist love fest of everybody hold hands and join in. Heathenry is not for everyone. You have to be dedicated and willing to learn. After more than 35 years as a Heathen, I am still learning. To the question, who can practice Heathenry? Anyone who makes a sufficient effort to understand and adopt the culture of the ancient Germanic peoples. It is really that simple.