Heathenry

There is no abstract for this item. Included here is part of the introduction. -- Introduction: Is Heathenry 'reconstruction' Among the forms of paganism being developed today are those which look to the mediaeval and earlier writings. These are often termed 'reconstructionist' although the term is somewhat misleading: while some practitioners attempt to copy practices and lifestyles, most are concerned to relate these to the 21st-century societies in which they live. While we write this chapter for the most part to discuss the development of Heathenry, we do so as 'insiders' each with our own connection to the practices and people involved, and to some of the landscapes within which they practice. Heathenry, like other religions of today, is not without its tensions and indeed politics, and we explore some of these and the challenges they create towards the end of the chapter. Heathenry is developing or becoming renewed in many parts of the world,: our experiences are primarily with Heathenry in the UK and in areas of North America, and these are foregrounded in this chapter. Heathenry is a rather diffuse, for the most part dogma-free, spirituality and our understandings and practices will not be shared by all followers; nevertheless we hope here to give a sense of what we see as central to Heathenry, from our academic research (e.g. Blain 2002a, Blain and Wallis 2000, Blain and Wallis 2006, Wallis 2003) and from our own practices.