Your Ancestors Were Heathen Many people with Northern European ancestry do not realize that the original religion of their people was not Christianity.  If you go back a 1000 years or more, prior to the conversions to Christianity in Europe, our ancestors had their own native Folk Religion that was rich and meaningful in their lives. Our People honored their own Gods and Goddesses, their ancestors, and the spirits n nature.  These original Heathens were the pre-Christian Northern European peoples who lived in the lands aroudn what is now called the North Sea.  These included the people of Anglo-Saxon England, Scandinavia, and Germany. The original Heathens were the pre-Christian North European peoples who lived a thousand and more years ago in the lands around what is now called the North Sea. These included the peoples of Anglo-Saxon England, Scandinavia, Germany and Friesland. Some of these heathens were convinced to convert to Christianity by missionaries.  Some were coerced into converting, based on threats of physical violence.  Others converted due to political or economic pressures brought on them by Christians.  And some of our ancestors were killed, because they refused to give up their Ways.

Modern Heathenry Modern Heathen groups around the world are reviving these old practices and call their religion by various names including Asatru, The Northern Tradition, Odinism, Forn Sed, Germanic Pagan Reconstructionism or, simply, Heathenry. In Iceland, which did not convert to Christianity until the 11th Century, Heathenry has once again become an official (nationally recognised) religion. Heathens work to build healthy relationships with gods and goddesses, ancestors, spirits of the land, and others in their communities, both through holy rites and through their day to day actions and deeds.

"Isn't a "Heathen" a Bad Person?" No.  It is something Christians use to refer to people who don't worship their God or follow their religion.  But the historical origin of this use of the word "Heathen" is pretty interesting. The word "Heathen" comes from the fact that the country people (those living on the heath), honored the old gods for centuries after the city-dwellers were already converted to Christianity. This is why "heathen" is a bad word in Christianity. The missionaries and preachers in the cities would rail against the "heathen" (those living out in the heath), that still honored the old gods.  But we embrace the term, for we are proud of those ancestors that resisted the conversion to a foreign religion, and who remained loyal to the Gods and Ways of our People. Another word commonly used for heathenry is Asatru, meaning "loyalty to the gods." Though, Asatru is normally use to refer to a more Icelandic influenced heathenry, while the word heathenry itself is a broader term encompassing those focusing on the Icelandic, the Anglo-Saxon, the Frankish, etc.

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