Wotanism - Prison-outreach Program

Prison-outreach Program

WotansVolk and the Temple of Wotan were known for having prisoner outreach ministries. In 2001 there were prison kindreds linked with Wotansvolk in all federal states of the USA and the groups supported more than 5000 prisoners. Research by Mattias Gardell indicated "a pagan revival among the white prison population, including the conversion of whole prison gangs to the ancestral religion.".

"Partly due to the reputation of David Lane and its association with the legendary Brüders Schweigen, Wotansvolk name-recognition is high among the Aryan prison population."

The Temple of Wotan dissolved and reformed into the National Prison Kindred Alliance, (NPKA) which has no relation with Wotanism.

Wotansvolk and the NPKA are not the only groups active in prisoner outreach; however, in 2001 "Wotansvolk seem more successful in its outreach efforts than other Asatrú/Odinist programs." The feminist women's group Sigrdrifa focuses on White cultural identity and has chapters in the United States and Canada. Sigrdrifa runs a special "Odinism in Prison" project. The Odinic Rite and the Asatru Alliance also have extensive prisoner outreach programs, albeit not based on race or politics.

In an interview about the role of race-based gangs and other extremists in America's prisons, the historian Mark Pitcavage came to the conclusion that, "on-racist versions of Asatrú and Odinism are pretty much acceptable religions in the prisons." But materials from racist variants of these religions may be prohibited by corrections departments.

Wotanism has been described as the "most violent strain" of Odinism in prisons, and its materials have been prohibited as a result.