In my movement toward full pariah status, there were two particular episodes that I would like to share. The first was an idea that I advanced concerning how a modern-day form of Norse Paganism should adapt to modern-day conditions. I argued that just as Scandinavia had advanced from a medieval land of farms, feuds and bloodshed to a region of modern technology, general prosperity and an internationally renowned social welfare state, the Paganism that derived from this region should also be allowed to evolve beyond a glorification of medieval lifestyles and Viking warriors to focus instead on the ecological and spiritual themes in the ancient texts and myths that would be more in harmony with modern-day conditions. My ideas did not receive a friendly response, to say the least. I felt that the dominating influence of conservative ideology made it more or less impossible for American Ásatrúar to take account of the evolution of Scandinavian society, preferring instead to fixate on a fossilized image of the “glorious Viking past” that just happens to support the conservative vision of America today. The second episode is an online survey that I developed in fall of 2010 comparing the political attitudes of American Ásatrúar with those of other American Pagan groups. I used the online service “Survey Monkey.” My ten questions concerned a variety of politically sensitive issues, from whether people of non-European heritage should be allowed to participate in Paganism, to whether interracial relationships and marriages were allowable, to attitudes on the military and government. Michael Strmiska Shared via permission of the author
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 23:10:21 +0000
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