It is a sad necessity that requires me to make this page, but because of a few racist, Nazi, and Satanic websites that have a relatively high profile on the WWW, I feel this disclaimer must be placed on my website. The sites to which I refer claim to be Asatru or Norse Heathen while promoting Heathenism as white supremacism or a kind of Satanism. Of course, the practice the Old Northern traditions and other forms of ancient Paganism -- the ancestral religions of much of Europe and the world -- has nothing to do with race hatred or with Satan.

   First, there are avowed Nazis and radical white supremacists who yet call themselves or their groups "Heathen", and who abuse our holy symbols and our Gods' names to promote hatred, violence, and totalitarian political agendas. The truth is, however, that there is nothing less Heathen than blind obedience to a demagogic leader; nothing less Pagan than the promotion of mental slavery over freedom.   These groups try to use the fact that Heathenism is the ancestral ethnic religion of Europe to promote ideologies of race hatred. In this they ape the Nazis who tried to use the ancient symbols of pagan Germany for the same reasons. The truth is that although Heathenism is a modern revival of ancient folk ways, in which honouring the ancestors is important, it certainly does not promote hatred of any other ethnic group or religion.

   Next, there are certain Satanist or Setian groups who associate Odin with their system, which is not Northern at all, but merely a reactionary perversion of Judeo-Christian traditions mixed with ceremonial magic. Paganism is a religion of its own, and does not define itself through opposition to some other established religion or God, as Satanism does. There are many Websites now that basically describe Asatru as a kind of Satanism, and this is totally erroneous, as Satan does not exist in the Heathen mythos. 

  In addition to those hate-mongers who wrongly assume the name of Heathen, there are a few people of other faiths who promote hatred of us because we are Heathen. Heathens and Pagans the world over continue to suffer prejudicial treatment because of our religion. To this day, those who practice the old native ethnic religions strive to overcome two thousand years of oppression by fundamentalist religious zealots, who from the beginning of the organised Christian church systematically attempted to eradicate the Pagan religions from the face of the Earth. It is clear that many misconceptions about our faith and ways have been promulgated by religious fundamentalists, and it is largely due to this anti-Pagan propaganda that false conceptions of Heathenism have arisen.

   As devoted Heathens we oppose hatred and prejudice based on religious differences, and promote religious freedom, tolerance, respect, and open communication. We strive, through education and by living example, to restore our ancient Old Religion to its rightful place among the world's faiths, and to reveal and refute, whenever possible, misrepresentations and propaganda against our beliefs and our Gods.

Tratto  da  http://home.earthlink.net/~wodensharrow/hah.html