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.