Heathens in the United States: The Return to “Tribes” in the Construction of a Peoplehood

Abstract

Snook, Horrell, and Horten investigate Heathenry (Germanic reconstructionist Paganism) in an American sociohistorical context in which whiteness is inherently problematic. American Heathens today seem less committed to discussions of indigeneity than in previous decades, but continue to frame Heathenry as a “birthright” for those with Northern European heritage. While championing a cosmopolitan appreciation for the unique religious and cultural heritage of each ethnic group, they reject the cosmopolitan ideals of global community and sameness, simultaneously denying or overlooking their own positions of cultural, social, and political dominance as overwhelmingly white people. Recently, however, the reworking of American Heathen collectivities as “tribal” has led to increasing fragmentation of the greater community, a focus on the local, and the depoliticization of exclusionary practices.