Portal:Heathenism/Featured article

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Symbol of the AFA.
Symbol of the AFA.

The Asatru Folk Assembly or AFA is a US-based Asatruar organization founded by Stephen McNallen in 1994.

It is the successor organization to a group called the Asatru Free Assembly founded by McNallen in 1974 and disbanded in 1986, itself an outgrowth of a group called the Viking Brotherhood founded by McNallen in 1971. The defunct Asatru Free Assembly is sometimes distinguished from the modern Asatru Folk Assembly by the usage of "old AFA" and "new AFA", respectively.

Gardell (2003) classifies the AFA as folkish. The organization denounces racism (from the Asatru Folk Assembly's Bylaws: "The belief that spirituality and ancestral heritage are related has nothing to do with notions of superiority. Asatru is not an excuse to look down on, much less to hate, members of any other race. On the contrary, we recognize the uniqueness and the value of all the different pieces that make up the human mosaic." Source).

The AFA has been recognized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit religious organization, or church. It is based in Nevada City, CA. From 1997-2002, the AFA was a member organization of the International Asatru-Odinic Alliance.