At a time when contemporary Heathenry is in the midst of a dramatic internal schism, when fundamentalism, hostility, and religious xenophobia are being put forward within the American Heathen community as the dominant interactive paradigm, “Essays in Modern Heathenry” offers a critique of these current religious and social trends and seeks to provide historical context, through the lens of Religious Studies, for the tensions so glaringly present in the community today. The essays in this book examine such disparate topics as ritual performativity, the controversy surrounding the concept of UPG or “unverified personal gnosis” and its impact on community dynamics, the importance of sacrifice and the way in which this ritual trope has developed within the current community, and finally the theological and cosmological importance of that most controversial of Gods: Loki. This book is the culmination of a decade of research and active participation within American Heathenry by one of the most controversial Heathen theologians today.