As my journey into Asatru deepens I am interested in joining one of the main national organizations. I am trying to decide between:
AFA: Because Stephan McNallen really has his stuff together and is doing a great job
The Troth: Because I love their books, Our Troth 1 & 2 and found them to both be along the lines of what I believe, but am worried about how active they are.
and The Odinic Rite: Because they are one of the most longstanding and I am a regular poster on Odinist.net, a forum with alto of great posters from the OR including Heimgest himself.
So your opinions? Are you a member of one or more of them and which do you find to be the best, in your opinion.
I really appreciate the feedback. I have still not decided what would be best for me. To those who ask why join one, there are not many kind reds around me and a National Org. is a great way for me to get involved.
I have ordered the OR books, the Book of Blotar and Odinism in the modern world. I feel these books will help to get a better grasp on how the OR thinks.
I will also continue to read the Out Troth books which I am continuing to find are fantastic.
So its pretty much between the OR and The Troth at the moment and I will decide upon one after completing the literature for both, thanks for the answers and opinions and keep them coming
A very close friend of mine was a member of the Odinic Rite and also wrote for Troth. From my interaction with him: the Odinic Rite is perhaps the most active with a wider group of contacts to learn from. That said there are no restrictions in joining all three.
I'm not a member of any but I have friends in all three or gs and know several officers in the AFA and Troth.
The most inclusive is definitely the Troth. The OR tends to have the defined practice and are pretty much a "our way or the highway" in that respect, meaning that you do things the way they do them or go find a different group to be a part of. The AFA also seem to be good folks and sincere in what they are doing.
That said, national or gs have a number of limitations. Being part of a local or regional kindred is a much better way to be a part of heathery. All three or gs have good networking to help people get in contact with local people. Heathenry, at its best, is communal practice and while national or gs serve their purposes, local kind reds are where the religion is growing and the place where most heathens I know feel they have the most rewarding experiences.
I really like the AFA for the same reasons. I left the Asatru Alliance because they never do anything but ask for support, I don't care much for the Troth for supporting homosexuality but their info is good, and I've heard some things about the OR having an oath you have to swear to but I haven't been able to confirm whether that's true or not. Either way, I'm busy enough and I've decided to only support one Asatru organization.
I can't see the need for membership in national or international organizations myself, the grass roots of ?satr? are in the kindred or hearth, the only reason I can think of for national or international organizations that actually makes any sense to me is to widen your sphere of contacts and share information.
As for the 3 you mention..
The AFA only permit individual members rather than supporting kind reds/hearths. McNallen was definitely a force in early ?satr? revival but now he's seen in a similar way as Gerald Gardner is to most Wiccans. He also has some interesting political views which you may want to read up on before associating yourself with him and the AFA (I do not mean extreme or Noe-nazi views, but some are a bit strange).
The Troth allow and support kindred/hearth members and have published a lot of great material. If they are active then they're doing it quietly.
The Odinic Rite whether deserved or not is known both within and outside the heathen community as a haven for neo-nazis and neo-nazi viewpoints. Before joining them you must really consider if you want to exaggerate the "you must be a nazi" sentiment you already get as an ?satr?ar by joining an organisation infamous for it.
To the poster above me..have you actually researched what our ancestors thought about homosexuality or are you just transferring a conservative christian/secular viewpoint into your heathenry?
I'm with Wyrdbrew and classworkOED this; why bother joining a national organisation?
Unless you really believe completely what the OR believe then you should not join, in fact stay well away, they do have some very right-wing political views.
The AFA is a group I know little about except their founder was a pioneer of Asatru in the US.
The Troth, the "Texasatru" organisation, had amongst it's members the authors Edred Thorsson (AKA Steven Flowers) and Kveldulf Gundarsson, neither of whom serious/academic Heathens take too seriously, this is enough for me to suggest you do not join.
Personally I suggest that you look at the Yahoo Groups for Heathen mailing lists and find Heathen/Asatru in your area, find a local Hearth or Kindred and join them. If you cannot find a local group but you can find enough local Heathens who you feel comfortable with why not start your own Hearth or Kindred? These small groups are much better for your personal spiritual growth and for the growth of Heathenry in general than these big "national" groups.
How do you feel about non-whites and gays in Heathenism? If you are uncomfortable with that, then go for AFA or OR; they are pretty socially conservative. If associating with non-white and non-straight Heathens isn't a problem for you, join The Troth. The Troth is plenty active; join and sign up for our troth-members e-mail list and you will see! BTW, The Troth contains a wide variety of Heathens including more mellow foolish types. The Troth's website is http://www.thetroth.org
Also, as far as I know, you could join more than one. AFA members have and to my knowledge continue to be actively involved in The Troth. I don't know of any OR folks in The Troth though, although there may well be some. RE the ancestors' opinions on homosexuality: http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/gayvik.shtml Their opinions were interesting and very nuanced, both in what they did and did not look down on. I think you will find it a fascinating read.
Of course, the ancestors' viewpoints need not always be our own. Very few of us, for example, support human sacrifice or slavery. The Troth does not "support" homosexuality, whatever that might mean. There are gay people active in The Troth, myself included, and many of us work very hard in it. Despite occasional rumors to the contrary, Trothmoot does NOT look like a Gay Pride festival or a Rainbow People gathering. It's a jeans and t-shirt crowd with a few people in period or ritual garb.
All the best, Jordsvin
http://home.earthlink.net/~jordsvin
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeathenNews (an excellent source of contacts).
After many years of observing, the organization that appears to have a vision for the future and a concept of Asatru community is the AFA. Yes the Troth produce nice books, and the OR are very intense and focused, but the AFA has VISION, and supports the concept of growth being the way to a permanent presence in our communities. That said, NO organization is perfect! All are subject to frustrating personalities and politics, no matter how lofty their goals. Whatever organizations you join, the one thing that determines their effectiveness will be YOU! In our situation the issue is what will you contribute to the organization and to the goals and mission and vision of the organization. Yes, you may get some reward from your membership, but that is not what you should be looking for. You may not agree with what everyone else in the organization thinks or says, but that is also not what it is about. It is about standing in the shield wall and forging forward to the shared goals. The reward is achieving those goals.
As a member of the Troth and the AFA, I much prefer the AFA for their drive, ambition and values. Although not a member of OR I do also enjoy and respect their organization. I would advise for you the AFA. One can always refer to the Troth and OR for differing heathen viewpoints. The most important thing being that it does not have to be either/or, as heathens we need to all stand together and promote Asatru.
I know exactly how you feel! I joined AFA a year ago, and must say how happy I am with the group. The forums and Yahoo list is very active and Steven McNallen is in the forefront of the push for Asatru rights. In the AFA the focus is on the individual as part of the whole group, and focus is not only on the viking period, but on Germanic and Teutonic faith as a whole (a good thing for me as I define my faith from a Saxon perspective). Before you make your decision, check out
http://ravencast.podbean.com/2007/07/01/episode-11-national-organizations-the-afa/
The pod cast allows you to get a great idea of the AFA and its goals. Check out the comments as well, you will find them very interesting I am sure.
What Asatru National Organization to join?
