Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2002, Page 21
Vinland Association, New York Metro Ásatrú Society, Odinic Rite, Raven Kindred Association,
Ásatrúarfélagid (the Icelandic Ásatrú Association), and the Icelandic-associated Society for
the Elder Way, Samfundet for den Forna Seden, USA.
What follows is an overview of Ásatrú deviations and derivations.
Odinism and Alternate Ásatrú
Odinism, as defined in this discussion, is a white-supremacist deviation of Ásatrú.
Hypocritically, and paradoxically, these groups tend to merge Ásatrú ideology with that of
concepts such as British Israelism and Christian Identity. The Christian Identity Movement is
found in groups such as the Aryan Nation, the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, and the
domestic terrorism group, The Order, an Aryan Nations offshoot. The basic premise of
Christian Identity is that:
the ten lost tribes of Israel taken captive by the Assyrians in the eighth
century BC had been assimilated into the pagan cultures of Europe and
especially Britain. Thus, people of Anglo-Saxon descent were identified as
heirs to the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament. (Watchman
Fellowship, 2001, ¶ 3)
Two other theories tend to run concurrently in Christian Identity circles: the Pre-Adamite
theory and the Serpent‘s Seed doctrine (also known as the Two-Seed Doctrine). The Pre-
Adamite theory states that Whites are the descendants of Adam and Eve, while other races
(Blacks, Asians, etc.) are the descendants of human beings created before Adam, the
―beasts of the Earth‖ spoken of in the Book of Genesis. The Serpent‘s Seed Doctrine
expands on this with the theory that Cain was the offspring of Eve and Satan. Cain and his
descendants then bred with the Pre-Adamites, resulting in an inferior race, now known as
the Jews (Watchman Fellowship, 2001).
For example, the Internet site of the Aryan Nations states:
We believe that the true, literal children of the Bible are the twelve tribes of
Israel, now scattered throughout the world and now known as the Anglo-
Saxon, Germanic, Teutonic...We believe that the Cananite Jew is the natural
enemy of our Aryan (White) Race. (Aryan Nations, 2001, ¶ 5-7)
The closest links to Ásatrú, however, are two groups: the Bruder Schwiegen and
Wotansvolk.
The Bruder Schweigen, also known as the Silent Brotherhood, or more commonly as the
Order, was formed by Aryan Nations member Robert Jay Mathews. He left the Aryans
Nation Church because its leader, Pastor Richard Butler, was not, in his mind, concentrating
enough on action in the pursuit of securing a White America (Kaplan, 1997). In 1983,
Mathews recruited a group of fellow dissident-Aryan Nations members and formed the
Order. Mathews respected, and took inspiration from, terrorist-minded individuals such as
Gordon Kahl of the Posse Comitatus (Boyle, 1995). Although Mathews was eventually killed
in December 1984 in a shootout with federal agents on Whidbey Island, the voice of the
Order lives on, as demonstrated in this excerpt of an interview with Mathews‘ follower,
Randy Evans:
I believe Odinism, Druidism, Buddhism, Brahmaism, Greek and Roman Gods
all are part of the collective unconscious of our folk and therefore should all
be considered in their perspectives by individuals. This is ―Aryanism.‖
(Sigrdrifa, 2001, ¶ 6)
Mathews was strongly influenced by William Pierce‘s (a.k.a. Andrew Macdonald) The Turner
Diaries (Macdonald, 1996):
Vinland Association, New York Metro Ásatrú Society, Odinic Rite, Raven Kindred Association,
Ásatrúarfélagid (the Icelandic Ásatrú Association), and the Icelandic-associated Society for
the Elder Way, Samfundet for den Forna Seden, USA.
What follows is an overview of Ásatrú deviations and derivations.
Odinism and Alternate Ásatrú
Odinism, as defined in this discussion, is a white-supremacist deviation of Ásatrú.
Hypocritically, and paradoxically, these groups tend to merge Ásatrú ideology with that of
concepts such as British Israelism and Christian Identity. The Christian Identity Movement is
found in groups such as the Aryan Nation, the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, and the
domestic terrorism group, The Order, an Aryan Nations offshoot. The basic premise of
Christian Identity is that:
the ten lost tribes of Israel taken captive by the Assyrians in the eighth
century BC had been assimilated into the pagan cultures of Europe and
especially Britain. Thus, people of Anglo-Saxon descent were identified as
heirs to the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament. (Watchman
Fellowship, 2001, ¶ 3)
Two other theories tend to run concurrently in Christian Identity circles: the Pre-Adamite
theory and the Serpent‘s Seed doctrine (also known as the Two-Seed Doctrine). The Pre-
Adamite theory states that Whites are the descendants of Adam and Eve, while other races
(Blacks, Asians, etc.) are the descendants of human beings created before Adam, the
―beasts of the Earth‖ spoken of in the Book of Genesis. The Serpent‘s Seed Doctrine
expands on this with the theory that Cain was the offspring of Eve and Satan. Cain and his
descendants then bred with the Pre-Adamites, resulting in an inferior race, now known as
the Jews (Watchman Fellowship, 2001).
For example, the Internet site of the Aryan Nations states:
We believe that the true, literal children of the Bible are the twelve tribes of
Israel, now scattered throughout the world and now known as the Anglo-
Saxon, Germanic, Teutonic...We believe that the Cananite Jew is the natural
enemy of our Aryan (White) Race. (Aryan Nations, 2001, ¶ 5-7)
The closest links to Ásatrú, however, are two groups: the Bruder Schwiegen and
Wotansvolk.
The Bruder Schweigen, also known as the Silent Brotherhood, or more commonly as the
Order, was formed by Aryan Nations member Robert Jay Mathews. He left the Aryans
Nation Church because its leader, Pastor Richard Butler, was not, in his mind, concentrating
enough on action in the pursuit of securing a White America (Kaplan, 1997). In 1983,
Mathews recruited a group of fellow dissident-Aryan Nations members and formed the
Order. Mathews respected, and took inspiration from, terrorist-minded individuals such as
Gordon Kahl of the Posse Comitatus (Boyle, 1995). Although Mathews was eventually killed
in December 1984 in a shootout with federal agents on Whidbey Island, the voice of the
Order lives on, as demonstrated in this excerpt of an interview with Mathews‘ follower,
Randy Evans:
I believe Odinism, Druidism, Buddhism, Brahmaism, Greek and Roman Gods
all are part of the collective unconscious of our folk and therefore should all
be considered in their perspectives by individuals. This is ―Aryanism.‖
(Sigrdrifa, 2001, ¶ 6)
Mathews was strongly influenced by William Pierce‘s (a.k.a. Andrew Macdonald) The Turner
Diaries (Macdonald, 1996):
