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The Asatru Alliance (AA) is a US Ásatrú group, succeeding Stephen McNallen's Asatru Free Assembly (AFA) in 1987, founded by Michael J. Murray (a.k.a. Valgard Murray) of Arizona, who is a former vice-president of Else Christensen's Odinist Fellowship. The AFA seceded into two groups, the other one being The Troth. The Ásatrú Alliance was for the most part a reconstituted AFA, dominated by prior AFA members, and acting as a distributor of, previously, AFA publications.
McNallen's group was revived (as Asatru Folk Assembly, AFA) in 1994, and the two organizations have existed in parallel since, temporarily united within the International Asatru-Odinic Alliance (1997-2002). Gardell (2003) classifies the AA as folkish. The AA defines Ásatrú as "the ethnic religion of the Northern European peoples".
The Ásatrú Alliance has is recognized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit religious organization, or church. The AA was formed on June 19, 1988 by seven kindreds, which were members of the disbanded Ásatrú Free Assembly, who ratified on this day a set of by-laws to preserve and promote the beliefs of Ásatrú in the United Stated of America.
The Ásatrú Alliance promotes the native culture of the Northern European peoples. The organization denounces racism.
The AA is currently headed by a board of directors comprised of representatives appointed by their kindreds, to speak on their behalf for any AA business.
The AA held its 28th annual Althing gathering in July 2008. Kaplan (1996) estimates the AA has between 500 and 1,000 members.
As a definition of Asatru, AA cites a 1995 essay by McNallen on "what is Asatru", which concludes by summarizing the maiin goals as the practice "courage, honor, the importance of the family and ancestral bonds, strength, freedom, the preservation of our kind, and joyful, vigorous life."
Footnotes
- From the Asatru Alliance Bylaws: -The Asatru Alliance promotes the native culture of the Northern European peoples. However, we do not practice, preach, or promote hatred, bigotry, or racism. We believe that Northern Europeans can believe and promote their own culture and heritage in a positive manner, this is expressed through our native religion: Asatru. We do not promote or condone activities of the left or right within our religion, any manifestations of political activity is outlawed by the By Laws of the Asatru Alliance.-
References
- Gardell, Mattias (2003). Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Duke University Press, pp. 269-283. ISBN 0-8223-3071-7.
- McNallen, Stephen A. (2004). "Three Decades of the Ásatrú Revival in America", Tyr: Myth-Culture-Tradition Volume II. Ultra Publishing, pp.203-219. ISBN 0-9720292-1-4.
- Kaplan, Jeffrey. 1996. "The Reconstruction of the Asatru and Odinist Traditions." In Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, edited by James R. Lewis, State University of New York Press.
- Chadwick, H. M. The Cult of Othin. Cambridge, 1899.
- Coulter, James Hjuka. Germanic Heathenry. 2003. ISBN 1410765857
- Gundarsson, Kveldulf. Our Troth. 2006. ISBN 1419635980
- Paxson, Diana L. Essential Asatru. 2006. ISBN 0806527080
- Puryear, Mark. The Nature of Asatru. 2006. ISBN 0595389643
- Shetler, Greg. Living Asatru. 2003. ISBN 1591099110
See also
External links
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