Germanic neopaganism
<p ><b>Germanic neopaganism</b>,<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_neopaganism#cite_note-1" >[1]</a></sup> also known as <b>Heathenry</b> or <b>Heathenism</b>, <b>Ásatrú</b>, <b>Forn Siðr</b>, and also <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odinism" title="Odinism" >Odinism</a></b> and <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodism" title="Theodism" class="mw-redirect" >Theodism</a></b>, is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_paganism" title="Modern paganism" >contemporary revival</a> of historical<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_paganism" title="Germanic paganism" >Germanic paganism</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_neopaganism#cite_note-2" >[2]</a></sup> It is centered on the worship of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Germanic_deities" title="List of Germanic deities" >traditional Germanic deities</a>, and the belief of Germanic neopagans can vary considerably, from strictly historical<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytheistic_reconstructionism" title="Polytheistic reconstructionism" >polytheistic reconstructionism</a> to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncretism" title="Syncretism" >syncretic</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungian" title="Jungian" class="mw-redirect" >Jungian</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esotericism" title="Esotericism" >esoteric</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysticism" title="Mysticism" >mystic</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariosophy" title="Ariosophy" >Ariosophical</a> interpretations.
Much of Germanic Neopaganism's origins are in 19th century romanticism, as the aboriginal cultures of Northern Europe came to be glorified. In the early 20th century, organised groups emerged in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esotericism_in_Germany_and_Austria" title="Esotericism in Germany and Austria" >Germany and Austria</a>. In the 1930s in Australia Alexander Rud Mills founded the "Anglecyn Church of Odin", devoted to Odinism. In the 1970s, new Germanic Neopagan organisations grew up in Europe and North America, although a broad division in the movement emerged between the folkish movement, who saw it as the indigenous religion of the Germanic peoples, and the universalist movement, who opposed strictly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racialism" title="Racialism" >racialist</a> interpretations. As present, established Germanic pagan communities exist primarily in Europe and North America. A few adherents can even be found in South Africa among the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaner" title="Afrikaner" >Afrikaners</a>.</p>
<p>
</p>