The issue is, there are multiple groups of people that are called the same name 'Druid' yet vary significantly. Scholars have issue in discussing about Druidary because of this, and also because contemporary Druidism found in across the world can vary from a religion, a spiritual outlook, or a philosophy.
Dr Suzanne Owen describes contemporary Druidary as
"a British response to the land of the Britons."
However, she admits there is a problem with this, because you can find Druidary across the world. She goes further, to mention the concept of awen, the Welsh word for ‘inspiration’. Through the groups she had studied, Pagan and a few Christian, there is always awen.
Each group also had a relationship with the outside, even the Victorian groups. During the rituals the outdoors is also significant.
The eightfold calender is also important for a lot of Druids, and this is probably influenced by Pagans ideas.
There is an ambulatory towards some kind of Diety. This can be the Christian idea about God, or the a Pagan Deity, or it could even be an animist idea of a 'spirit' - which can be described as anything. The sheer vagueness helps Druidary avoid a doctrine, which can encourage members to join.
Other reasons people are influenced by Druidary is because it is not patriarchal, and it is very much an individual exploration. Some see it as an alternative to religion, (despite others call it a religion!) as they associate religion with hierarchy and institutions. Most Druids would except Druidary being known as a 'Spirituality'.
According to Dr Suzanne Owen, there are three main threads of Druidary.
- During Victorian times there was a 'Druid' organisation that were interested in British, Nationalist interests. They were friendly societies. It was men only.
- Then Pagan roots of Druidary became altogether a different development, yet under the same name. There is a keen interest in environmentalism, and it is often quite romanticised. The ideology questions such as haswhat has industrialisation has led to? How can we get back into nature? There a are a few links with the friendly societies, but many more differences. The main difference is that there are equal opportunities for women and men. The Pagan influence may have become popular because of it's openness, just as Wiccan had been adopted by the US by those looking for more feminist ideologies.
- There is another thread from Christian tradition. There is contemporary forms of Druids who identify themselves as Christian. These tend to be smaller groups then their Pagan cousins, and can really intergrate and share ideas between them. I personally wouldn't call these complete, seperate stands, but more like a diversity of Druidism itself. Like... the different kinds of apple you can get. These druids are both the same fruit.
There are other threads, such as secular Druidism too. But as with any open religion, or spiritualism with no doctorine, you'll forever find individuals who have unique backgrounds but feel they rightfully belong in a certain group, and who are we to say otherwise?
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You can find more about what Dr Suzanne Owen has to say about Druidary here.
Websites that may interest you:
http://www.druidry.org/druid-way/what-druidry
http://www.druidry.co.uk/
http://www.druidry.org/board/dhp/index.php?sid=989d8db616c86978694332fe33d4fe60
http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/south/series3/druids.shtml
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/d/the_druids.aspx
Other blog posts:
http://matthewslater.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/christian-druid.html
http://www.druidry.org/druid-way/other-paths/christianity-druidry
Druidary in the news:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2173194.stm
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