Heathenry

Heathenry
Family	Modern Pagan / Germanic
Origin region	Modern revival communities in Europe, North America, and elsewhere
Founding period	Modern revival from the 19th and 20th centuries CE
Estimated adherents	Unknown; organized groups and solitary practitioners exist internationally.

Heathenry is heathenry is a modern Pagan religious family inspired by the pre-Christian traditions of Germanic-speaking peoples, including Norse, Anglo-Saxon, Continental Germanic, and related sources.

Overview

Heathenry is a broad term for modern Germanic Pagan traditions. It may include Asatru, Odinism, Anglo-Saxon Heathenry, Theodism, and other approaches. Practitioners draw on archaeology, folklore, medieval texts, runic inscriptions, and local culture. The movement includes inclusive, folkish, reconstructionist, devotional, and eclectic forms, and there are significant disagreements over ethnicity, politics, and religious identity.

Key beliefs

• Honor for Germanic gods, ancestors, and land spirits
• Reciprocity, oath, gift-giving, hospitality, and community obligation
• Sacred narratives preserved in Eddic, saga, and folkloric sources
• Diverse theology including polytheism, animism, ancestor veneration, and symbolic interpretation
• Many inclusive groups reject racial exclusion and extremist appropriation

Practices

• Blot offerings
• Sumbel toasting and oath-making
• Ancestor rites
• Seasonal feasts
• Study of historical and linguistic sources

Places of worship

• Home altar
• Outdoor sacred site
• Hof or ritual hall
• Community gathering

Sacred texts

• Poetic Edda
• Prose Edda
• Sagas
• Runic inscriptions
• Anglo-Saxon and Germanic folklore sources

Holidays and observances

• Yule
• Midsummer
• Winter Nights
• Harvest feasts
• Group-defined holy days

Branches and related traditions

• Asatru - A modern Heathen movement focused heavily on Norse sources.
• Norse paganism - The historical source tradition of the Norse world.
• Anglo-Saxon paganism - Historical and reconstructed religious traditions of early English peoples.

See also

• Religion
• Theology
• Philosophy of religion
• New Religious Movements
• Modern Paganism
• Western esotericism