The uses of history in Norwegian Asatru: “a religion with homework”

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article gathers material from 18 months of fieldwork, involving interviews with and participant observation of the two main Norwegian Asatru groups to describe their use of history. The analysis of the data identified three main ways history is represented: through textual practices, symbols, and rituals. Historical records on Norse religion are sparse and there is no recognizable continuity of practice. This lacuna leaves space to resolve the manifest tension between attempts to restore an old religion and its ideals and the necessity to represent it in a manner acceptable to modern life. History can then be variously called upon or rejected, given different rhetorical settings. This is all the more interesting as many adherents indicate that the spirituality they now pursue fits their own personal life stories. Many have a pre-history in various sub-cultures and their stories of modern Asatru breaking free from societal constraints mirror their own life narratives. Rather than setting up a dichotomy between re-imagination and re-construction as is sometimes done, mimicry is suggested as a better category.