A Heathen Epistemology
I am Heathen. By this, I mean that my religion is a (fairly loose) reconstruction of the religions that were practiced across Germania, Scandinavia, and the British Isles from sometime before the years 500 CE to about 1100 CE or so.1 This religion is also referred to as Ásatrú.2 I use both to refer to my spiritual beliefs, although I tend to default to “Heathen.”3 All of which is a long-winded way of saying I pray to Freyja, Thor, Odin, and their kin.
Of course, I also believe the things that science says. I believe that the universe is 14 billion years old, that natural universal processes formed the stars and planets, that biodiversity is the result of evolution. And as I tend to hang out in communities with strong atheist and anti-theist sentiments, a question I’ve been asked more than a few times is: how do I reconcile religious faith with scientific skepticism?