Odalism
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Odalism (from the Proto-Germanic word ôþalan which roughly means 'heritage,') is a Teutonic ethnic nationalist ("Völkisch") movement based on pride in one's own ancient cultural and religious traditions, rather than adopting those of outside cultures. The boundary of cultural practice is conceived as residing within racial or ethnic lineages, representative of family branches. Following such culture as latently one's own, as it is founded upon atavisms of one's own inherited traits, excluding cultural inceptions originating presumably from different human ancestries for the reasons of it not belonging to ones own human archetype; the archetype which presupposes the structure of the individuality in the person.
Its symbol is the Odal rune (ᛟ, sometimes called othala). Although the word and movement (because of its etymology) are used only by people with Germanic ancestry who profess such an outlook, they specifically can contain elements of Ásatrú, certain other European-based philosophical ideas, or even Christian extra-denominational ideas divorced from their Biblical roots (as long as the parts in question belong to the same identity as one's heritage).
Odal was also the name of a magazine that carried articles by the Nazi ideologist Richard Walther Darré. (Bramwell 1985:59)
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[edit] Philosophy
Odalists consider all things that are unique to Germanic spheres of influence to be contributors to a greater definition of identity. In identity, an increasing sense of autonomy through specific as well as general identity (identity at all levels), can be seen how all people regard spirituality. Odalists believe that everyone forms their spirituality from their own terms, whether they believe in the universality of spiritual truths to all peoples of whatever background or not. For that reason, taking the terminology of spiritual ideas and the ideas themselves from culturally relevant historically understood sources is seen to allow 'the self', as ancestry is seen as the history of oneself, a more precise regard for spiritual ideas, all of which because there is a greater sense of identity.
Odalists see all things coming from somewhere specific, whether the thoughts that those things yield (morals, examples, beliefs) profess universalism or not (compare relativism). That such uniqueness can be universal to everything different is then thought to give a wider range for spiritual concepts to be regarded on a whole, and so does more honour to the aesthetic of religious methodology for everyone regardless of heritage. It is like a mutually exclusive differentialism, but because it is heritage-based, followers consider it to be progressive, by developing new concepts and not being bound only to the tradition of ancient ways, as long as the concepts are novel and not borrowed, each & every culture develops in diverse yet unique & exclusive ways. This series of self-innovations is thought to help give the world more variation, conveniently allowing a simultaneous ideologic context for social Darwinism by means of selective retention. Odalism, because of its rejection of logic or theoretical discoveries from different cultures, can certainly be seen even as a cognizant 'creative limitation' to one's view of reality, as it seeks out its own tangible & philosophical answers rather than accepting others within contexts not from their greater family of heritages & culture. See also meta-ethics.
[edit] Groups & Organizations
Heathen Front (now defunct)
