Druidry Recognized as Charity in Britain

The Charity Commission for England and Wales has now granted Druidry charitable status and recognition equal “to more mainstream denominations.” The Druid Network, which has fought for recognition from the Commission for four years, has 350 official members, but one estimate says that the religion has approximately 10,000 adherents throughout the UK.

Druidry has its roots in the Celtic culture that was supplanted when the Romans invaded Britain.

According to the London Telegraph, The Druid Network has demonstrated its benefit to the public—hence its claim to be recognized as a legitimate charity—because “its followers are keen to conserve Britain’s heritage as well as preserve the natural environment.” Druidry has its roots in the Celtic culture that was supplanted when the Romans invaded Britain.

Modern Druidry’s belief system involves the worship of nature, especially of the sun and the earth, and belief in spirits and “divine guides.” Emma Restall Orr, who founded The Druid Network, says that the Charity Commission “now has a much greater understanding of Pagan, animist, and polytheist religions, so other groups from these minority religions . . . should find registering a much shorter process than the pioneering one we have been through.”

The waning of Christianity in Britain has been going on for quite some time. As in the United states, professing Christianity suffers from a widespread loss of its biblical moorings on the one hand and outright hostility on the other hand. The surveys described in Already Gone demonstrate the first problem, and the widespread and outspoken hostility to the assertion that none are good (Romans 3:10) without God (made during the Pope’s recent UK visit) illustrates the latter. Thus it is not surprising to see the resurgence and rise in popularity of alternative religions. When Christians allow the authority of God’s Word to evaporate from their own minds and hearts and then lose the ability to give biblically sound reasons (1 Peter 3:15) for their faith, hope, and worldview, their witness loses its power. Many people seeking answers then naturally do what the Bible says they’ve been doing for ages—they worship the “creature” (animals, nature, or man himself) more than the Creator (Romans 1:25). Meanwhile, in the United States, we continue to see a similar decline as God’s Word is at best marginalized and at worst ridiculed.

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