News and Information
Submitted by Nordicpriest on Monday, April 17, 2006.Followers of Ancient European Religion Welcome Supreme Court Ruling
6/1/2005 12:40:00 AM
To: State Desk
Contact: Stephen A. McNallen of the Asatru Folk Assembly, 530-272-8142, info@runestone.org, Web: http://www.runestone.org
NEVADA CITY, Calif., May 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Followers of an ancient European faith with Norse roots today hailed the Supreme Court's unanimous decision protecting the religious rights of prisoners. (Cutter v. Wilkinson, No. 03-9877)
The ruling, which upholds the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, recognizes the rights of prisoners to religious materials and services regardless of their faith.
"For years, Asatru prisoners have struggled for the right to practice our religion," said Stephen McNallen, director of the Asatru Folk Assembly, a national religious organization dedicated to the pre-Christian faith of Europe. "This decision will make it much harder for prison administrators to deny them this right."
Asatru -- a native pre-Christian European religion originally practiced by the Anglo-Saxons, the Norse, and the Germanic tribes-has been a legally recognized religion in the United States since 1972. The Supreme Court Justices made it clear that little-known religions, or those with very different beliefs from the mainstream, deserve the same protection as those with many millions of followers.
McNallen believes that Asatru has a definite place in correctional institutions. "The native spiritual path of the European peoples carries incredible rehabilitative, transformative, and healing power for those who approach it with openness and reverence," he said. "How can it be in the interest of the state to deny us our spiritual birthright in such a win- win situation?"
About the Asatru Folk Assembly: The Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) was established in 1994 to practice, promote, and further evolve the indigenous European faith. The AFA's Director, Stephen A. McNallen, was a pioneer in the revival of the Asatru religion, helping to bring it to the United States in the late 1960s. For more information, visit Runestone.org.
-0- /© 2005 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/