> I don't care if he worships Odin, as long as Odin is not instructing adherents to blow up the rest of the world's population.
Not a problem. The various version of the old Norse faiths do share a few important points:
1) Don't care what religion *you* are. There's not a whiff of "we must convert you" in any of the lore that has survived. Nothign that suggests that your neighbor, your wife or your kid being some other religion is in any way a detriment to either you or them.
2) Unlike your more dangerous cults, the End Of The World is something the Norse gods are actively trying to *prevent,* or at least hold off. None of this "let's bring about the End Times!" garbage that real cults tend to have.
3) There are two distinct *races* of gods (Aesir and Vanir), who get along just fine and intermarry; and several of the gods are actually products of unions not only of the two godly races but also between gods and Jotun (giants) who are a *very* distinctly separate race. Consequently, unlike some religions I can mention, Asatru has a fairly clear *non* racist attitude built right in. No special chosen people, for instance.
4) There's not even remotely a built-in power structure or priestly heirarchy in Asatru. Virtually complete anarchy.
Upshot: While individual Odinists might decide to go pound the Hel out of someone, the idea of a holy war of forced conversion is laughable.
Spot on. Excellent synopsis.