The Odinic Rite of Australia
A statement from the Director of the Court of Gothar, ORA:
Odinism in this continent is almost as old as the Australian nation itself, but our history has not been without its darker side. Many Australian Odinists have suffered for their beliefs. For Rud Mills and Leslie Cahill, their demand for religious freedom led them straight into concentration camps. Annie Lennon was never deprived of her liberty (as far as we know), but she was repeatedly fined for stating publicly that the Christian God was an alien deity unworthy of the worship of Australians. Others have experienced forms of persecution that were seemingly milder, but which still had the intention of ruining their lives or their careers.
We don't really wish to dwell on this darker side of our Australian Odinist experience, but it is a matter of historical record that can and should never be forgotten. It also, unfortunately, tends to cast its shadow on our attitude toward the institution of government and the Christian assumptions that have historically underpinned it. Some people who belong to other heathen traditions that have not suffered in this way have expressed surprise at our caution, but it is historically grounded.
The destruction of Mills' Anglecyn Church of Odin in 1942 meant that Australian Odinists were forced to practice their faith in private, and - rightly or wrongly, but understandably - this too has tinged some of our attitudes.
The 1960s was in many ways a watershed decade, in which many of the old rigidities broke down. For probably a majority of young Australians at that time, anything seemed possible. Rigid authority could be successfully challenged. Even a government armed with all the contemporary weapons of propaganda was unable to convince the public of the desirability of the Vietnam War. This was the climate in which a young female Odinist sought and obtained from the then Attorney General a statement that in Australia there were no Constitutional or legal barriers to the practice of Odinism.
Most Australian Odinists felt that that was enough. We had become accustomed to practising our faith in private, and a guarantee that the government could not legally persecute us seemed sufficient. Individuals and families went about their own affairs in a traditionally Australian laid-back manner, sometimes in communication or communion with other co-religionists and sometimes entirely on their own.
By the early 1990s there were Odinists who felt that the Australian religious climate was perhaps now sufficiently mature for us to again establish a formal religious organisation.
The outstanding question was how "open" this new religious society should be. It was decided that the answer would be provided by the government itself. If the government was prepared to formally recognise the Odinist religion, then it would also have a moral and perhaps legal duty to uphold our rights should they ever be questioned. Since the only form of government recognition of religious bodies in this country is tax exemption it was decided to apply for tax-exempt status.
Not being sure how to do this, we sought advice from other overseas Odinist bodies who had already been down the same road with their own governments. The Odinic Rite in London gave us such wonderful practical support that we decided to align with them as closely as possible.
The Court of Gothar in London appointed one of our members to be "the Delegate-In-Charge of Administration, Odinic Rite of Australia". This Delegate first approached the Tax Office early in 1995, and after a few months of correspondence, was advised on the 22nd of November 1995 that the Odinic Rite of Australia was now a tax-exempt organisation. (In passing, we should thank the Tax Office for treating us with exemplary professional respect.)
Measures are now being taken to organise Australian Odinism on a formal basis. While we proceed with caution, we feel optimistic that the shadow cast over much of our recent religious history is lifting.
So what is the Odinic Rite of Australia?
At its simplest, it is the autonomous Australian equivalent of London's Odinic Rite. Both are officially defined in identical terms: "The Odinic Rite is the continuation of and shall promote the organic spiritual beliefs and religion of the indigenous peoples of northern Europe as embodied in the Eddas and as they have found expression in the wisdom and in the historical expression of those peoples."
The two religious bodies are entirely independent of one another, but share similar aims and similar constitutions. In a relationship not unlike that between the Church of England and the Anglican Church of Australia, neither has any role in the internal affairs of the other, and neither is responsible for the actions of the other.
Each is governed by a nine-member Court of Gothar, which is constitutionally defined as "the fount of the Odinic law and guardian of the sacred wisdom ".
Each has tax-exempt status as a religious body, which in Britain and Australia is the only form of Government recognition that is available. It must be repeated that despite their similarities of structure, constitution and purpose, the two organisations are entirely independent. As modern Odinism grows, regional adjustments should, and inevitably will, take place. Just as each branch of the northern peoples has evolved in its own way to produce tribal or national differences, so is Odinism an evolving faith that must accommodate itself to different cultures and conditions.
There is some overlap between members of the Odinic Rite of Australia and the readers and writers of the Odinist newsletter "Renewal", but again we must stress that the two are entirely separate entities, although both save money by sharing a common address.
To contact the Odinic Rite of Australia, write to PO Box 4333, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3052, Australia, or email Osred