Questions ons Druidism

Medina

Salam aleikum
Peace:)

I have a few questions on Druidism and wonder if you guys can explain for me.
My intention is not to debate back with you on any of your answers, purely to become informed on your beliefs


I read the sticky ( or some of it) and i noticed this quotation:

Quotation:

"Druidry is not a religion. It's a philosophy and you can worship a God or a Goddess, it's up to you. You can be a Christian or a Moslem or anything else and still be a Druid. "But while a Christian will say God made that tree, a Druid will say the energy of a creative force is in that tree." Kieron, a North-East UK Druid.

Ok I would like to know if Druids believe that the 'creative force' could possibly be just another term for God - I'm coming from the Muslim perspective where He is the Creator and therefore the only 'creative force'.


Also do Druids believe in a human being having a soul?
do Druids believe in an afterlife or after-existence of some kind?
Do Druids follow any scripture exclusive to Druids alone? (The way Christians follow the Bible and Muslims follow the Quran)

Hope you respond

peace

Suaimhneach

Medina wrote:

Ok I would like to know if Druids believe that the 'creative force' could possibly be just another term for God - I'm coming from the Muslim perspective where He is the Creator and therefore the only 'creative force'.
Also do Druids believe in a human being having a soul?
do Druids believe in an afterlife or after-existence of some kind?
Do Druids follow any scripture exclusive to Druids alone? (The way Christians follow the Bible and Muslims follow the Quran)

First of all, there is no simple answer for those questions. There is no one consensus on what is, and what is not. There is no fact or book that Druids follow. I would believe that there is a universal energy that we all connect to, and that different individuals in different cultures express it that energy differently. But I am not a Druid.

I would think that most people of the Pagan faith believe in souls, but then, its hard to speak on behalf of a community that is not unified the way Muslims or Christans might be.

Hope that's slightly useful to you.

joseph dawton

Hi Medina

To say that druidry is not a religion is an opinion, to many it is a religion, I guess that depends on how you define religion. Personally I would call it a religion as for me it involves prayer and contact with the gods and goddesses of the celtic pantheon (although I would see them as aspects of the divine spirit or God that encompases all existence).

Druids believe in the soul, the ancient druids believed in metempsychosis or 'transmigration of souls'.
Druids believed in an afterlife and also the ability to return to this world in a new form (reincarnation). It is generally accepted that there are three realms of existence. Some believe these 3 realms are encompased by the realm of the uncreated one or God which cannot be penetrated by created beings.
Druidry was an oral tradition, much of which has been lost although there is a large body of codified legends and lore which is spread across the celtic nations but there is not one book like the Quran or Bible, it would be so much easier if there was!

Defining what is or isn't druidry is difficult as there is a lot of scope for personal opinion, and because of a lack of impirical evidence it is hard to prove the accuracy or inaccuracy of modern practices.

I hope this helps!