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Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

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    Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

    While I am by no means an authority on the subject, a commonly featuring problem with a lot of reconstructionist neo-pagan movements/communities are their tendency to be politically hijacked by the likes of racial separatists and racists, blatant, or subtle. As most of the traditions under this umbrella tend to be more ethnic and localized rather than politically universal such as those of the Abrahamic faiths, this can sometimes lead to the misunderstanding that one must be of 'x' ethnicity to practice it properly for a variety of reasons - from 'not being able to hear the call of the gods', to 'having your own traditions to follow'. I've been speaking with fellow Neo-Pagans and even outside my chosen path as an Asatruar, there seems to be the problem of having to contend with, and how to deal with, racism. (the exception seems to be Wiccans, as the very nature of their movement seems to oppose barriers of any sort. I have yet to see or hear of a coven that rejects membership or tutelage on the basis of ethnicity, or even gender/sexual orientation)

    Personally, I fall under the 'Tribalist' faction regarding this issue, meaning I do believe that a person's ethnicity is irrelevant (besides, blood pacts come in useful here) in his choosing to practice Asatru (or any path of his choosing), but that the tradition's culture must be absorbed to receive the full benefits it has to offer in your life (spiritually, philosophically, culturally, even aesthetically), not to mention being able to be part of a properly defined community and providing standards by which we are to define who is immediate kin and who isn't. I highly recommend this article by Wayland Skallagrimsson on the racism issue in Asatru. Most racial science tends to be sketchy anyway, or its proponents have a strange way of misinterpreting scientific papers and drawing shady conclusions, often tailor-fit to their own political agenda rather than truly representing the opinions of the established scientific community in question. Interestingly enough, old Norse lore is full of examples of interracial relations - Aesir and Vanir inter-copulating with giants, Aesir adopting (or taking hostage, if you will) Vanir, even Loki, who is one of the most featured gods in the lore, is a giant himself (who, with very few exceptions, were sworn enemies of the gods)! It's rather interesting that the ancestors do not seem to discriminate on account of one's ancestry or ethnicity - at least nowhere near as much as they would discriminate on account of your family's standing in their community, your personal reputation or your steadfastness to your own word. In short, your worth, and not so much the circumstances of your birth.

    To my knowledge, and based on what I've read so far, at no instance is it ever stated or even implied that you must be Scandinavian to participate in the "Ancient Practice". On the contrary, the ancestors were actually quite hospitable and accommodating, and in several accounts even participated in foreign rituals as a sign of respect without breaking their oath of loyalty to their own deities. Evidence also suggests that the vikings would often take home bits of whatever their ran into overseas, integrating these into their own practice and making for an extremely diverse, rich and interesting community of personalized worship, but at the same time defined clearly by a set-in-stone code of valued virtues, the gods and of course the culture of what was then Norse society.

    While I don't go out of my way to try and cause a ruckus with folkists, I do make it clear that I don't tolerate such views on my own turf. I always stress that most "White Power" folkists' arguments simply do not hold water when properly scrutinized. The ideologies of racial separatism, sectarianism and blatant racism simply do not feature in the old lore, and seem to be a newer trend that tagged along for the ride with the reconstructionist movement in our time. I feel that these kinds of opinions and their train of thought hurt our kin, our movement and our community, and make us weaker as a unit.

    What about in your tradition; your practice, my friend? is racism a particular problem in your tradition? How do you deal with it? What do you think of the whole thing? you have my ears, my eyes, and my keyboard.

    #2
    Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

    Personally, and my experience might not be what you're looking for, but it's never come up for me. I'm mostly solitary and my practice is closer to 'Green' witchcraft, kitchen witchery, etc. Even a touch of Chaos magick. But primarily, my faith is closer to the Celtic tradition. I was even a Reconstructionist for a brief while (I left because I was frustrated by the dirth of actual information. But hey ho, that's what happen with a culture group with no written language).

    What makes cultural identity easy for me to accept within the Celtic heading is that it's a common misconception that the Celts were a race (assuming you accept race a biological and not cultural construct). The fact is that they were a culture group, not a genetic group. The culture moved around far faster than the actual people. The Celtic culture group stretched from Eastern Europe to Portugal, so there is going to be some variation there. Also, the Roman Empire actually HELPED the spread of ideas, and the Romans mixed people from everywhere. I can absolutely accept a North African practicing Celtic religion. Even if there were literally no Black Celts, I can accept the idea because of the nature of how easily and widely the Celtic culture spread.

    I have other ideas about culture versus race and how religion fits in, but I would have to speak in a blanket manner (disregarding individual traditions) and I can't imagine how I would do that without overstepping and ruffling feathers. Religion is far too personal a matter for me to wax philosophical just for the sake of showing off ;-)
    She is like a cat in the dark and then she is the darkness. ~~(=^._.^)

    I got my war paint on and I'm off to go passive-aggressive all over these socially awkward man-witches. :XD:

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

      Originally posted by October View Post
      Personally, and my experience might not be what you're looking for, but it's never come up for me. I'm mostly solitary and my practice is closer to 'Green' witchcraft, kitchen witchery, etc. Even a touch of Chaos magick. But primarily, my faith is closer to the Celtic tradition. I was even a Reconstructionist for a brief while (I left because I was frustrated by the dirth of actual information. But hey ho, that's what happen with a culture group with no written language).

      What makes cultural identity easy for me to accept within the Celtic heading is that it's a common misconception that the Celts were a race (assuming you accept race a biological and not cultural construct). The fact is that they were a culture group, not a genetic group. The culture moved around far faster than the actual people. The Celtic culture group stretched from Eastern Europe to Portugal, so there is going to be some variation there. Also, the Roman Empire actually HELPED the spread of ideas, and the Romans mixed people from everywhere. I can absolutely accept a North African practicing Celtic religion. Even if there were literally no Black Celts, I can accept the idea because of the nature of how easily and widely the Celtic culture spread.

      I have other ideas about culture versus race and how religion fits in, but I would have to speak in a blanket manner (disregarding individual traditions) and I can't imagine how I would do that without overstepping and ruffling feathers. Religion is far too personal a matter for me to wax philosophical just for the sake of showing off ;-)
      I do know for a fact that the Celtic traditions tend to be very accepting. I think the problem for the Norse tradition is how it was hijacked and perverted in the 20th century by the Nazi's. Haunts the tradition to this day.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

        I drifted toward Asatru for a while when I was studying Anglo-Saxon archaeology. I was really feeling connected and fascinated. But, my family's Germanic roots are veeery far back, and while the group I joined was very open and accepting, I still didn't feel right being there and eventually drifted away.

        Perhaps the gods were subtly telling me, 'this isn't the path your you'. Or maybe my own gods were gently calling me back. I don't know. But I did feel, mid-century unpleasantness aside, that I wasn't quite right for it.
        She is like a cat in the dark and then she is the darkness. ~~(=^._.^)

        I got my war paint on and I'm off to go passive-aggressive all over these socially awkward man-witches. :XD:

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

          Originally posted by October View Post
          I drifted toward Asatru for a while when I was studying Anglo-Saxon archaeology. I was really feeling connected and fascinated. But, my family's Germanic roots are veeery far back, and while the group I joined was very open and accepting, I still didn't feel right being there and eventually drifted away.

          Perhaps the gods were subtly telling me, 'this isn't the path your you'. Or maybe my own gods were gently calling me back. I don't know. But I did feel, mid-century unpleasantness aside, that I wasn't quite right for it.
          I always consider it a great blessing when someone eager to get into the Asatru community finds an accepting kindred. I feel that they truly represent the Scandinavians' warm hospitality so valued in the Havamal.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

            In my 45 years as a practicing pagan I have only seen two or three black pagans. They are always an integral part of the group to which they belong and race seems ineffectual.
            I don't think that any race would be turned away on strictly race issues from any path. It takes a lot of work to be accepted into a pagan group and if someone is willing to do that they have earned a place.
            The Dragon sees infinity and those it touches are forced to feel the reality of it.
            I am his student and his partner. He is my guide and an ominous friend.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

              I think modern Paganism has many similar problems with New Age and American Buddhism: at worst they can be colonialism masqueraded as spirituality.
              baah.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

                I think modern Paganism has many similar problems with New Age and American Buddhism: at worst they can be colonialism masqueraded as spirituality.
                American Buddhists, huh? How so?
                Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

                  Originally posted by B. de Corbin View Post
                  American Buddhists, huh? How so?
                  The part with Buddha statues in every corner of the house, practitioners posing in online pics with Tibetan ritual objects in hand, using Tibetan names given by a lama on online forums, claiming some kind of superiority over "religious" kind of Buddhism (the Buddhism practiced in many Buddhist countries) and all the merchandise.
                  So, not American Buddhism in general but the part of it that resembles a role playing game.
                  baah.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

                    OK - I understand
                    Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

                      Originally posted by Cynica the Ageless View Post
                      What about in your tradition; your practice, my friend? is racism a particular problem in your tradition? How do you deal with it? What do you think of the whole thing? you have my ears, my eyes, and my keyboard.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

                        Originally posted by DragonsFriend View Post
                        In my 45 years as a practicing pagan I have only seen two or three black pagans. They are always an integral part of the group to which they belong and race seems ineffectual.
                        I don't think that any race would be turned away on strictly race issues from any path. It takes a lot of work to be accepted into a pagan group and if someone is willing to do that they have earned a place.
                        There are some communities that tend to hold such policies or views, and often they turn out to be the more vocal ones, which can be a problem as it can be prone to misinterpretation or misunderstanding to people who might be interested in becoming Asatruar themselves. I don't really think the Esetroth Fellowship in Iceland really had this problem, but the Asatru Folk Assembly have been known to hold separatist folkish views. I've read the founder's material and listened to his podcast and I must say, what he preaches smacks more of more recent political agenda than lore to be found in the ancient practice. Shoddy racial science and logic surrounding genetics.

                        - - - Updated - - -

                        That's very humble of you. What do you mean when you say that you are an 'Unorthodox Henotheist'?

                        I feel that a lot of racists and folkists try to tailor-fit historical facts to suit their own worldview: the opposite of what we ought to be doing if the Neo-Pagan movement is to ever progress and move past contemporary society's racist tendencies. More and more archeological evidence found with regard to Scandinavia from the Iron Age to the Middle Ages for example, suggests that the old Norse communities were much more metropolitan than what we would have thought just a few decades ago. We have evidence that strongly suggests female vikings now. We've found Buddhist statues in dig sites, indicating how well-traveled these people were. If the corresponding evidence is also to be believed, the thralls they took back home from their raids when going viking were also eventually let go and some even gained the status of free-born, going on to assimilate the Norse culture and even adopting Norse names. Most thralls were of a different ethnicity it can be presumed, as for them taking fellows for thralls was a distasteful act. We have Celts, Baltic peoples, Slavic peoples, painting a picture of a very different Scandinavia from what White Power folkists may like to believe it was. More racially charged views with regard to ancient Rome and Greece seem to parallel this, but so does the evidence. Imperial Rome's territories would suggest that the empire was not as 'white' as hollywood and the silver screen would have us believe. Greece was also most metropolitan, and the only exception to this rule seems to be the Spartans of the Taygetus.

                        It's completely fine if you as a person do not feel attuned to a specific path. I am of the opinion that you should always seek that particular one out, if not construct it yourself. But to prohibit people who may feel attuned for whatever reason on account of their ethnicity I find wrong, and there is no basis for that in the lore of the ancient practice that we have access to today.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

                          ...resembles a role playing game.
                          An amusing distraction to real, genuine practice, so to speak. I agree.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

                            Originally posted by Cynica the Ageless View Post
                            That's very humble of you. What do you mean when you say that you are an 'Unorthodox Henotheist'?
                            Thank you, that is interesting to hear since I always considered myself quite stubborn and rather proud.

                            As for terms, I use "Unorthodox" in the sense that I am doing something that differs from the norm - be it from classical or neo-traditions. For example, the god I follow is traditionally considered a mythological figure but not a god per se. I also disagree on various stances with the Greek philosophers, even if I do hold in high regard their work and base my own views around it. As an example of such, I do not view gods exactly as they do.

                            And I am a Henotheist because I always felt attracted to a certain god, not many, despite acknowledging the existence of all pantheons. I explored many religions and ideas, but ultimately I kept coming back to a certain spirit. It is only recently that I may have been called by a god of another pantheon and even then it nothing came out of it.

                            "Unorthodox Henotheist" thus combine to form the fact that while I am willing to work with other deities and beings if ever they find me worthy of their attention - it is just that such relationships will likely be temporary and tenous at best. As the philosophy of Plotinus sufficed for him, so my connection to a god suffices for me. If more approach me I will likely welcome them. If not, well, I guess I am not that interesting anyways.
                            Originally posted by Cynica the Ageless View Post
                            I feel that a lot of racists and folkists try to tailor-fit historical facts to suit their own worldview: the opposite of what we ought to be doing if the Neo-Pagan movement is to ever progress and move past contemporary society's racist tendencies.
                            The issue lies in that, ironically, racist Neo-Paganism views the world in a "us vs. them" fashion: Those who share our beliefs and race and those who are intruders/invaders/vermin/etc. which is in fact a primitive Christian Imperial Church perspective. Consider the Slavs. While there are a lot of good people in Russia fact is fascism is becoming increasingly en vogue among Neo-Pagans there. Therefore Neo-Paganism to them is not a way to unite believers, it is a way to make artificial distance from other people.
                            Originally posted by Cynica the Ageless View Post
                            More and more archeological evidence found with regard to Scandinavia from the Iron Age to the Middle Ages for example, suggests that the old Norse communities were much more metropolitan than what we would have thought just a few decades ago. We have evidence that strongly suggests female vikings now. We've found Buddhist statues in dig sites, indicating how well-traveled these people were. If the corresponding evidence is also to be believed, the thralls they took back home from their raids when going viking were also eventually let go and some even gained the status of free-born, going on to assimilate the Norse culture and even adopting Norse names. Most thralls were of a different ethnicity it can be presumed, as for them taking fellows for thralls was a distasteful act. We have Celts, Baltic peoples, Slavic peoples, painting a picture of a very different Scandinavia from what White Power folkists may like to believe it was. More racially charged views with regard to ancient Rome and Greece seem to parallel this, but so does the evidence. Imperial Rome's territories would suggest that the empire was not as 'white' as hollywood and the silver screen would have us believe. Greece was also most metropolitan, and the only exception to this rule seems to be the Spartans of the Taygetus.
                            That is good to know. I knew that the Vikings and Norse had more open socities than usually expected (even the Shieldmaidens seemed to hint at that) but I never knew to which degree. As a matter of fact most of the old pagans were quite tolerant in their religious and customary practices, even the Mongols.

                            As for Greco-Romans not being white I agree. It simply does not fit the enviroment they lived in, I mean the mediterranean was not a tundra or even cold region and work under the sun tends to give the skin a tan.
                            Originally posted by Cynica the Ageless View Post
                            It's completely fine if you as a person do not feel attuned to a specific path. I am of the opinion that you should always seek that particular one out, if not construct it yourself. But to prohibit people who may feel attuned for whatever reason on account of their ethnicity I find wrong, and there is no basis for that in the lore of the ancient practice that we have access to today.
                            I agree. Race itself is a fabricated belief - which is why I prefer the term "ethnicity". It may not have the exact say meaning but that is what makes it more appealing.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Fighting the Good Fight: New Paganism's Epic Struggle with Racism

                              Originally posted by Archifenix View Post
                              While there are a lot of good people in Russia fact is fascism is becoming increasingly en vogue among Neo-Pagans there. Therefore Neo-Paganism to them is not a way to unite believers, it is a way to make artificial distance from other people.
                              Precisely!

                              Folkism as an ideology almost always leads to racism or racial separatism, whichever term you feel more like using at this juncture. Strangely enough it only seems to have gained vogue status around the end of the 19th century and on into the 20th. It's a contemporary idea for the most part (can't speak for more insular societies such as Japan), and seldom actually embedded in ancient pagan culture. This rather more contemporary concept of racially grounded faith seems to be more of a Judaeo-Christian invention of much more recent times as opposed to our Iron Age ancestors.

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