Murdock, Minnesota's City Council voted 3-1 to grant permit allowing Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) to gather at former Lutheran church AFA practices a pre-Christian, European spirituality that revolves around Norse gods; it only admits white people with northern European descent Southern Poverty Law Center has added AFA to its list of hate groups Critics of AFA have launched an online petition seeking to stop it, which so far has drawn more than 123,000 signatures Murdock officials said rejecting AFA's permit request could have violated its religious rights and led to an expensive legal battle