Our Organization
The Troth is an international Heathen organization based in the United States and is a non-profit corporation registered in the state of Texas. Additionally, The Troth is recognized by the state of New York as a 501(c)(3) Charity.
The Troth is open to all who seek to know and to worship the Gods, honor the ancestors, and live by values of the Germanic Heathen traditions, regardless of tradition, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, gender, or family structure.
The Troth stands against any use of Germanic religion or religious symbols to advance causes of racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, ableism or white supremacy.
The Troth’s Mission, Vision, and Values
Vision
We believe in a future where the needs of all Heathens are met, and where they can live an open, rewarding, and fulfilling spiritual and religious life.
Mission
We build and support a diverse, inclusive, spiritual community that provides education, clergy training, pastoral care, and publications for the many faiths that compose the tapestry of Heathenry.
Values
INTEGRITY is democratic governance, transparency, clarity, personal and institutional accountability
HOSPITALITY is affirming, just, diverse, equitable, inclusive
COURAGE is anti-racism, active resistance to white supremacy, confronting injustice and bigotry
REVERENCE is compassion for all life: human, non human, spirit and corporeal
SUSTAINABILITY is moderation, stewardship, reciprocity, cooperation, collaboration and community
*HEATHENRY:
A family of universally-accessible religions and spiritual traditions that is based in the modern restoration of the gift-relationship that existed in the Germanic world among the Gods, ancestors, spirits and humanity and which promotes peace and plenty among communities.
Organizational Structure
The Troth is a 501c3 Religious Organization. We are volunteer run and have a nine member Board of Directors (Ceremonially known as a the “High Rede”), four Officers (President, Associate President, Secretary, Treasurer), and several program administrators and coordinators (High Steward, Idunna Editor in Chief, Lore Provost, Clergy Coordinator).
Directors are elected to a three year term. Officers and program administrators are appointed by the Board to varying term lengths (President, Secretary, Treasurer 3 years, Associate President 1 year).
Much of the day to day decisions of The Troth rest with the committees that are made up of any members who want to be a part of them. Standing Committees are committees that handle the ongoing business of The Troth.
Current Standing Committees of The Troth
- Community Relations (Declaration 127 and DEI are both Subcommittees of Community Relations)
- In-Reach Committee
- Education Committee
- Scholarship Committee
We also have several Work Groups whose task it is to accomplish specific objectives or produce specific outcomes as defined by the Board of Directors when they are formed.
History of The Troth
The Troth has been part of modern Heathenry since 1987. Over nearly four decades, it has taken many forms, passed through many hands, and weathered more than one season of conflict, reinvention, and renewal.
To tell that story well, it helps to remember what The Troth is meant to be.
The Troth is the inn on the roadside of Heathenry.
People come and go. Some stay only long enough to warm themselves by the fire, share a story, and continue on. Others remain for a season as innkeepers, tending the hearth, repairing the roof, welcoming guests, and making ready the place for whoever comes next.
From its earliest days, The Troth sought to be a place for learning, publication, clergy formation, and the building of inclusive Heathen community.
It grew because Heathens needed a place where serious study, religious practice, and fellowship could meet under one roof. Over time, it became known for its educational work, its publications, and its efforts to build an organization that could serve Heathens across many different localities and traditions.
But like many long-lived institutions, The Troth’s history has not been smooth. It has passed through scandal, internal conflict, leadership crises, and periods when the organization had to confront its own weaknesses. At times, the roof leaked. At times, the fire burned low. At times, those entrusted to care for the inn did not always do so wisely. The Troth has had to reckon with failures of judgment, failures of governance, and moments when it needed to change in order to remain worthy of the people it served.
Again and again, The Troth has been forced to ask difficult questions:
- Who is this place for?
- Who is responsible for it?
- How should authority be limited?
- How can leadership remain accountable to the membership?
- How do we protect both learning and hospitality, both inclusion and integrity?
Some of the most important reforms in The Troth’s history came out of those moments of strain, including stronger democratic structures, clearer governance, and a deeper understanding that the organization must belong to its membership rather than to any one leader, faction, or era.
That is one reason The Troth endures.
It has endured not because it has been perfect, but because people kept choosing to repair it rather than abandon it. Members and volunteers stayed to tend the fire. They strengthened the organization’s publications, expanded its educational and clergy work, built programs of service, and carried it through seasons when it might easily have faded. Each generation inherited something unfinished, and each generation added something of its own before passing it on.
This, too, is part of the innkeeper’s work.
Some come to The Troth seeking knowledge. Some come seeking community. Some come seeking a place to grow in their faith or prepare for service. Some stay for a season as innkeepers themselves: tending the hearth, telling the stories, welcoming guests, and helping fellow travelers find their footing on the road. In that way, The Troth has always been more than any of its officers, more than its founders, more than any one person, and more than any single chapter of its history.
Today, The Troth continues as a volunteer-run, member-led religious organization committed to education, clergy formation, pastoral care, publication, and inclusive Heathen community. Its story is not one of unbroken triumph, nor one of endless crisis. It is the story of an inn that has survived because generation after generation of Heathens chose to keep it open, make it better, and leave it stronger for those who would come after.