Faith, Folk and the Far Right

Matters of ancestry, race and racism endure within Heathenry, a diversly constituted 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 act 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. 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, are examined. 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 in Black Metal and Dark Folk music. Part II analyses how anti-racist Heathens are countering racist discourse, including 'Declaration 127' which opposes Heathen hate groups, protests by inclusivist Heathens at far-right rallies, inter-faith forums and an active presence on social media platforms.Faith, folk and the far right makes an important contribution to understanding the intersecting fields of new religious movements, nationalist history and racist politics.