After months of making inroads with white nationalist organizations like Identity Europa and posting racially charged posts on social media, the Asatru Folk Assembly has now been officially banned for offensive behavior on Facebook. The AFA is one of the best known “folkish Heathen” groups in the U.S., which takes a racialized interpretation of Nordic paganism. This is based on an earlier Jungian notion that the archetypes that make up the Nordic gods, such as Odin or Thor, were set into the psyches of Northern European people exclusively. The founder of the original AFA, Stephen McNallen, uses these pseudo-scientific arguments on race to argue that Asatru, the modern revival of a magickal Heathenry, is the native spirituality of Northern European people and one that white should return to.

While the AFA often tries to present itself as “apolitical,” it has consistently sided with white nationalists. McNallen was known for being a core part of the Alt Right since 2008, appearing on the AlternativeRight.com podcast, Vanguard Radio, several times to speak with Richard Spencer. He has also attended the white nationalist conference the National Policy Institute and pals around with various racialist projects.

Most recently, the AFA hit new leadership has taken it in an even more explicitly racist and patriarchal direction. Below is a screenshot of a recent post of theirs, and because of it they were denounced by almost every Heathen organization in the country.

As they have continued to increase their racialist profile, including participating in the Alt Right rally at Berkeley, they have seen resistance form. They have now been banned from Facebook and will continue to see their profile shrink as few are willing to accept their white supremacist version of paganism.

Note: The vast majority of Heathens are anti-racist, and those who take the “folkish” perspective are a loud and racist minority in the religion.