- published: 02 Nov 2014
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Ásatrú (from Icelandic for "Æsir faith", pronounced [auːsatruː], in Old Norse [aːsatruː]) is a form of Germanic neopaganism which developed in the United States from the 1970s. It focuses on historical Norse paganism of the Viking Age as described in the Eddas, but proponents also take a more inclusive approach, defining it as "Northern European Heathenry" not limited to a specific historical period.
There are three national organizations of Nordic Paganism in the United States, Ásatrú Alliance, Ásatrú Folk Assembly and The Troth, besides numerous smaller or regional associations. Historically, the main dispute between these has generally centered on the interpretation of "Nordic heritage" as either something cultural, or as something genetic or racial ("metagenetic"). In the internal discourse within American Ásatrú, this cultural/racial divide has long been known as "universalist" vs. "folkish" Asatru.
The Troth takes the "universalist" position, claiming Asatru as a synonym for "Northern European Heathenry" taken to comprise "many variations, names, and practices, including Theodism, Irminism, Odinism, and Anglo-Saxon Heathenry". In the UK, Germanic Neopaganism is more commonly known as Odinism or as Heathenry. This is mostly a matter of terminology, and US Asatru may be equated with UK Odinism for practical purposes, as is evident in the short-lived International Asatru-Odinic Alliance of folkish Asatru/Odinist groups.