Northern Gods for Northern Folk: Racial Identity and Right-wing Ideology among Britain’s Folkish Heathens

Abstract

Heathenry, the modern Pagan religion inspired by the Germanic societies of pre-Christian Europe, is broadly divided between those embracing an inclusive, Universalist perspective, and those who favour a racially exclusive, Folkish alternative. This article represents the first academic analysis of Folkish Heathenry in Britain, focusing on the country’s three most visible groups: the Odinic Rite, the Odinist Fellowship, and Woden’s Folk. Examining how they promote themselves online, it explores how these organisations present an extreme right-wing socio-political vision focusing around the centrality of ‘the folk,’ while at the same time professing an officially apolitical stance.