The Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) is a
white supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
[ international ]Ásatrú
Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th centu ...
organization, founded by Stephen A. McNallen
Stephen Anthony McNallen (born October 15, 1948) is an American proponent of Heathenry (new religious movement), Heathenry, a Modern Paganism, modern Pagan new religious movement, and a white nationalism, white nationalist activist. He founded t ...
in 1994. Many of the assembly's doctrines, heavily criticized by most heathens, are based on ethnicity
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
, an approach it calls " folkish". Once headquartered in Grass Valley, California
Grass Valley is a city in Nevada County, California, United States. Situated at roughly in elevation in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this northern Gold Country city is by car from Sacramento, from Sacramento I ...
,[Gardell 261] with chapters worldwide, the AFA is recognized as a 501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
religious organization.
History
The AFA's roots are in the Viking Brotherhood, founded by McNallen in 1972. McNallen was one of the earliest advocates in the United States of reconstructing Germanic Paganism
Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the British Isles, modern Germ ...
. The Viking Brotherhood evolved into the Asatru Free Assembly in 1974, and was disbanded in 1986, splitting into two successor organizations, the "folkish" Ásatrú Alliance, and the " universalist" Troth
Troth may refer to:
* An alternate form of truth, especially in the medieval sense
* Troth (surname)
* Troth Yeddha', a landform in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska
* The Troth, an American Asatru organization
*Troth's Fortune
Troth' ...
. In 1986, the Asatru Free Assembly ceased operations, due to burnout and disputes about polygamous relationships within the membership. According to accounts by McNallen, it was not due to racial politics, but because administration was time-consuming and the membership rejected a request seeking pay for religious work.
McNallen founded the Asatru Folk Assembly in 1995 as the successor organization to the Asatru Free Assembly. The defunct Asatru Free Assembly and Asatru Folk Assembly are sometimes called the "old AFA" and "new AFA", respectively. From 1997 to 2002, the AFA was a member of the International Asatru-Odinic Alliance.
McNallen believes in an "integral link between ancestry and religion, between biology and spirituality"; according to Jeffrey Kaplan, the organization was founded in part to counteract rumored "universalist" tendencies he discerned in Ring of Troth
The Troth, formerly the Ring of Troth, is an American-based international heathen organization.[On its main ...](_blank)
.
In 1999, the AFA almost acquired land in northern California
Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...
, aiming to base a communal project with room for agriculture and religious worship. But it never held legal title to the land. Upon promises that the land would be donated, some AFA members built a simple hof there, after which the land's owner chose not to donate it.
In the late 1990s, the AFA got involved in a protracted fight over the remains of the Kennewick Man
Kennewick Man and Ancient One are the names generally given to the skeletal remains of a prehistoric Paleoamerican man found on a bank of the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington, on July 28, 1996. It is one of the most complete ancient ske ...
: members claimed that these were the remains of a European ancestor; they were allowed to approach, but not touch, the coffin holding the Kennewick Man. Later testing showed that Kennewick Man is "very closely related to the Colville" tribe in northeast Washington.
In May 2017, Facebook deleted the AFA's primary social media outlet, citing hate speech
Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...
as the reason. In 2018, the Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
added the AFA to its list of hate groups as part of a new category called "neo- Völkisch".[SPLC. "Neo-Völkisch". Online. Accessed 6 August 2018]
/ref> The Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
lists the AFA as an "extremist group".
In December 2019, two members of the Army National Guard
The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...
received a general discharge
A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...
after their involvement as leaders of "Ravensblood Kindred," an extremist group that shared ties with the AFA, were revealed. Both had previously attended a rally by Richard B. Spencer
Richard Bertrand Spencer (born May 1978) is an American neo-Nazi, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and white supremacist. A former editor, he is a public speaker and activist on behalf of the alt-right movement. He advocates for the r ...
. One was on active duty in Afghanistan and one worked as a jailer for the Haralson County
Haralson County is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,919, up from 28,780 2010. The county seat is Buchanan. The county was created on January 26, 1856, and was ...
Sheriff's Office until the broadcast of their involvement, at which point the employment was terminated.
Activity
Since 2013, the AFA has owned rights to many of the books of "Edred Thorsson" (a pen name of Stephen Flowers
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...
).
In August 2015, the AFA acquired a former Grange Hall
The Grange, officially named The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and ...
in Challenge–Brownsville, California
Challenge–Brownsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yuba County, California, United States. The population was 1,161 according to the 2020 Census.
The Asatru Folk Assembly dedicated Odinshof in Brownsville in 2015, which became the fi ...
, about 40 miles from
Grass Valley where the group was founded. The hall was built in 1938, and was purchased to be used as a hof and community center under the name Newgrange Hall Asatru Hof. It was previously the Youth Center of the Mountaintop Christian Academy of California, and at another time the Marge Moore Youth Center.
In April 2020, the AFA acquired a former church in Linden, North Carolina
Linden is a town in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 130 at the 2010 census, the mayor is Frances Collier.
History
Ellerslie, Ivy Burne, and the Dr. Wayman C. Melvin House are listed on the National Register ...
, which has been turned into a heathen hof serving AFA members in the Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...
. This second hof is named Thorshof, in dedication to the god Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
.
In June 2020, the AFA purchased a former Lutheran church in Murdock, Minnesota
Murdock is a rural town in Swift County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 306 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Kerhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (KMS) school district. Murdock has Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Elementary School which i ...
, to be used as gathering place for AFA members of the Northern Great Plains. In December 2020, the Murdock City Council gave the AFA conditional approval to use the church. More than 120,000 Minnesotans have signed a petition to stop the group's use of the building.
Opposition
As a result of the perceived discriminatory activities of the AFA, numerous Heathen and neo-pagan organizations sought to produce a document refuting these beliefs and the characterization that they represented these faiths. The product was Declaration 127, which specifically condemned the AFA. This declaration has been criticized for its specific focus on the AFA, and efforts taken to expand it. One alternative to Declaration 127 is the "Declaration of Deeds," a much wider-ranging statement against discrimination and hate in Heathenism.
See also
* Far-right politics
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
* List of white nationalist organizations
The following is the list of well-known white nationalist organizations, groups and related media:
White nationalism is a political ideology which advocates a racial definition of national identity for white people; some white nationalists advo ...
* Neo-Völkisch movements
References
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
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{{Authority control
1994 establishments in California
501(c)(3) organizations
Alt-right organizations
Ásatrú in the United States
Germanic neopagan organisations
European American culture in California
Non-profit organizations based in California
Religion in California
Modern pagan organizations established in 1994
Modern pagan organizations based in the United States
White nationalism in California