Warrior Narratives: Germanic and Slavic Paganisms, Security Threats and Resiliency (K. Aitamurto; R. Downing).

Abstract

Contemporary Paganism studies are a fertile field of research with numerous themes and urgent discussions about the impact of constructed narratives on religious movements and contemporary society. Although the numerous Paganisms can be understood as part of a single family of religious movements, the different strands have their own peculiarities. Developed under the influence of movements such as Romanticism, nationalism, literature, anthropological theories and the counterculture movement, Contemporary Paganisms on the positive side, propose breaking the patterns of the dominant culture. However, ideas and narratives regarding Romanticism, rationalism, and nativism give rise to contradictions and conflicts within the Contemporary Pagan community. This is especially true for strands related to Contemporary Germanic Paganism, which emerged spontaneously in numerous countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Iceland, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Russia, Ukraine, and in Latin America.