We just received confirmation that our (Neil Pitchford and Larisa A. White’s) session proposal for the “2021 Parliament of the World’s Religions” ( 2021 VIRTUAL | Parliament of the World's Religions ) has been accepted. We will post the exact date and time of our presentation, as soon as we know it ourselves. Our session will provide an overview of the key findings from the World Druidry survey project, as presented in the book, “World Druidry: A Globalizing Path of Nature Spirituality.”
Our proposal was to present the key findings of the first rigorous, global study of modern Druidry, in order to help debunk the popular myths and widely-circulated misinformation about modern Druids’ actual religious beliefs and spiritual practices. In doing so, we will be demonstrating the unique ways in which modern Druidry addresses the stated missions of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, “to create a culture of non-violence and respect for life, tolerance and truthfulness, and sustainability and care for the Earth.”
If anyone here plans to attend the Parliament, our official session title will be: “Cultivating Honorable Relationships with the World: Lessons from the ‘Scriptures’ of Druidry” (of course, as Druids, ‘Scriptures’ = Nature ; a point our presentation will make clear).
Our official Session Description: Modern Druidry, a contemporary, nature-based, new religious movement born in Britain, has been rapidly spreading around the world since the early 1990s. Druids now reside in 34 countries, across six continents, and inhabit 17 unique biomes, in addition to the mistletoe and oak filled temperate forests depicted in history and fantasy. As a nature-reverent tradition with high holidays based upon a cycle of seasonal celebrations, this begs the question: How can Druidry maintain a spiritual common core across so many, diverse ecological contexts? In this presentation, we will provide a brief overview of Druidry as a modern religious tradition, and then, using the example of how Druids celebrate seasonal festivals in a globalizing tradition, demonstrate how the Druid devotional practices of nature connection, sacred listening, and reciprocity allow Druids to cultivate honorable relationships with all other beings, be they human or of other-than-human kind.
Early-bird registration ends August 31st, so if you are interested in attending, this is a good time to explore the Parliament’s offerings. Let us know if you plan to attend!