Indigenous Religion: Druid Religion

The Druids are a major division of Indigenous Religion and are located in the British Isles and Scotland. The Druids are most commonly associated with the Indigenous Celtic people of Ireland. Druids are known to have existed as far back as 3rd century B.C.E. (History of Britain: Rise and Fall of the Druids) The Druids passed down rituals and history through stories rather than through written text so a lot is still unknown about how they lived. There are still many people in today’s culture who actively practice Druidism. Today, Druidism is split into two sects, Cultural Druidism or Religious Druidism. Cultural Druids are classified by having descendants who are Druids. Usually these people lightly follow the practices of Druidism but most practice a second larger religion such as Christianity. Religious Druids are classified as actively practicing the Druid religion. Most Religious Druids also have ancestors who were Druids (B.A. Robinson).

Druids were known to be highly intelligent and were often an elite group. They were often the priests of the Celtic religion. The druids have no official sacred text although there are books about astronomy that were believed to be written and used by the Druids. The Druids believed that mistletoe and oak trees were very sacred. Pliny, a Roman author, stated that “The Druids (so they call their wise men) hold nothing in greater reverence than the mistletoe, and the tree on which it grows, so that it be an oak.” (Pliny, sect. 95). A noted unique feature in the Druid religion was that they made no distinction between male and female rulers. In chapter 30 of Annals, a book of Roman history, Tacitus describes the Romans first encounters of the Druids. He describes women as “running through the r...

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