Veteran's Administration Now Accepts Hammer of Thor as Emblem of Faith

The US Veteran's Administration (VA) has released its latest list of  Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers. Included as number 55 on the list is Mjolnir, or the Hammer of Thor. Our understanding is that the decision comes at the request of the next of kin of  a service person recently killed in combat 

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State-Sponsored Church of Norway Abolished

"In an unprecedented move, the Norwegian Parliament has voted to abolish the state-sponsored Church of Norway with a constitutional amendment.
The bipartisan measure to create a separation of church and state will officially be presented on Tuesday, reports Norway's TV2. The nation will not have an official religion, and the government will not participate in the appointment of church deans and bishops."
For Heathens, this may at first appear as vindication for the days when Olaf forced the conversion of his people to Christianity. However, the increasing secularism of Norway may prove a double-edged sword, as it has been cited as a factor in the government's apparent indifference towards preserving the Ranheim Temple and other pre-Christian sites. The full story on the abolition of the Church of Norway may be read at Digital Journal.

Can't say it better than that

This has been making the rounds on Facebook of late. Pass it on.

Odinist woman wins 'family life' human rights case

"An American woman who worships Norse gods has won the right to stay in Britain because of her 'family life' with her boyfriend and his wife.
Home Office officials told Emily DiSanto, 25, that they would not grant her permission to stay in Britain because the law bans what are in effect polygamous relationships.
But now she has won an extraordinary legal case in which she was allowed to remain here on the basis of her human right to family life."

In sum, Ms. DiSanto claimed that her lover's beliefs as an Odinist forbade him and his wife from divorcing, and this precipitated their living together. The article does note that Britain's main Odinist group, Odinic Rite, does not forbid divorce, but other Odinists, and other Heathens, may share different views on the matter. The complete article may be viewed at the Daily Telegraph.