Heathenry in the United Kingdom consists of a variety of modern pagan movements attempting to revive pre-Christian Germanic religiosities, such as that practised in the British Isles by Anglo-Saxon and Nordic peoples prior to Christianisation.
Religious belief and practice
Most modern-day heathens operate in small groups, often termed kindreds or hearths. There is a tendency for such groups to develop their own approaches to Heathenry independently, assisted by networking groups and Internet communication. Thus most kindreds remain unaffiliated with one another while remaining in contact.
Although Heathenry is a highly internally diverse religion, the most evident forms of ritual practice among the British Heathen community are the blot and the sumble. Blot is a ritual involving giving offerings to ancestors or beings such as land wights, elves or gods (the Æsir and Vanir). It is no longer common to sacrifice animals, with most heathens instead choosing to offer something personal to themselves such as handmade items or a drink such as mead. While a blot may be performed alone, a sumble is always a community event that may include rounds of toasting, drinking in turn (sometimes from a drinking horn) and swearing oaths.
Places of worship
There are no purpose-built Heathen temples in the UK. Heathen individuals and groups instead commonly choose to worship outdoors, particularly in nature or at ancient sites such as standing stones, stone circles or cairns.
Demographics
In the United Kingdom Census 2001, 300 people registered as Heathen in England and Wales, while in the UK as a whole in 2001 were 278 Heathen and 92 Asatru. Many Heathens, however, followed the advice of the Pagan Federation (PF) and simply described themselves as "Pagan", while other Heathens did not specify their religious beliefs. The 2011 census however made it possible to describe oneself as Pagan-Heathen (or any other chosen subgroup). The figures for England and Wales show 1,958 people self-identifying as Heathen. A further 251 described themselves as Reconstructionist and may include some people reconstructing Germanic paganism.
Heathen groups
Asatru UK
Asatru UK (AUK) is a UK-wide, inclusive, Heathen community. The group organised a first moot in York, in 2013, and became a community interest company for religious activities in 2022. The organisational body behind the group is composed of volunteers within the community and typically organises three moots a year, hosted around the country. Although there are no official membership statistics, in February 2022 AUK had 3177 members of its Facebook group.
Asatru UK lists that it is open to anyone who follows Heathenry, regardless of nationality or ancestry and has openly condemned groups such as Woden's Folk, stating that "Asatru U.K. is categorically opposed to fascist movements, or any movements, using the symbols of our faith for hate". It is also a member of the Asatru-EU Network, a European network of Heathen organisations, along with groups such as Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige and Eldaring. In 2015, in response to the hate received by the Ásatrúarfélagið, the members of the network, including AUK, released a shared statement that they are "committed to Asatru as a non-exclusive religious approach", and that "heathenry is open for everyone who chooses so". They further vet potential members for association to far-right groups, or unwillingness to engage in religious practice with members who are transgender, homosexual or of a different ethnicity.
The group currently does not own land and thus is in the process of carving portable god posts for use in a vé. The first of these was of the god Odin and was consecrated at a gathering in 2021, with a god post of Freyja consecrated at a public gathering in 2022. Members of Asatru UK have been guests on, and are hosts of, podcasts that aim to promote the availability of accurate information regarding Germanic Paganism and promote the inclusion of people of diverse backgrounds within the international Heathen community. The group has also been involved with the Norse in the North conference, hosted in collaboration between the universities of Durham, Leeds and York, where in 2023 they spoke about the ways in which Heathenry and Old Norse scholarship can benefit one another.