Do we really need ANOTHER religion?

It's now official: Druidry (or 'Druidism') is to be confirmed as an official religion in Britain; it is claimed, after 2,000 years. However the points I want to raise are that not only is modern Druidism not 2,000 years old but it is also ridiculous that another religion has now arisen to take advantage of people who want to be part of something 'unique' and 'different'.

I've met people who have claimed to be Druids before and having studied Archaeology at college I was stunned by some of the things they came out with. The most shocking of which is the constant association of their 'religion' to Stonehenge and various other henges and stone circles around the country. This is an association which is now quite dangerous for the future of some of our oldest and most cherished monuments.

If you have ever visited Stonehenge you will recall how it is now cordoned off so you can walk around the monument but not climb on it or go up to the trilithons and touch them. This is for a good reason of course, up until recent years people could go up to the monument and were chipping bits of stone off and writing on it and the like. So to protect the monument English Heritage cordoned it off which not only served to protect the stones but also meant people could go around the monument in a particular route, allowing the use of audio headsets to tell the story of Stonehenge.

Yeah, I'm sure this number of people climbing over Stonehenge won't damage the monument in the slightest...

Unfortunately there is one time of year where this rule is broken. The Summer solstice. It's a time when a large gathering of 'druids' will descend on the monument and as they consider it to be their 'church' that apparently gives them the right to go up to the stones, climb on them and do whatever they want. By proclaiming that Druidism is a religion, this will only mean that any future attempts to protect the monument will result in people stating that the government are stopping them from worshipping in the way they want. We only have one Stonehenge and it's anywhere between 4-5,000 years old; as old as many of the pyramids in Egypt. Why should we allow people to climb all over it?

A druid respecting his 'church' by climbing all over it. The equivalent of a Catholic scaling the cross and teabagging the effigy of Jesus.

'Druids' would claim they do not harm the stones and only seek to be closer to nature... but it's not like people claiming to be part of their gathering can't get in and do whatever they want to the stones. The Summer Solstice is not a religious gathering, it's a social gathering; a party; a festival and even if it was a religious gathering, would it really be worth the destruction of a unique monument so people can worship some imaginary deity? They claim it is their church but how many Catholics do you see climbing all over the effigy of Jesus?

Which leads me onto the other thing which annoys me about this recent change. Druidism now is almost certainly nothing like Druidism as it was in the BC's. Only a few accounts relating to the Druids that the Romans encountered during their occupation of Britain exist and these paint them to be a fairly barbaric people who believed in human sacrifice. It is, in fact, where the 'Wicker Man' effigy comes from as it was noted by the Romans that the Druids would sacrifice people by burning them to death in the wooden structure. Do modern Druids intend to do that too?

The people who are part of this 'religion' have to pay for their part in it which is something which is more in line with 'cults' like Scientology rather than a religion. For this money they get interesting titles like 'Battle Chiefton' and get to recite poetry, wear white robes and attend events. I must admit, I would pay for a title like 'Battle Chiefton' if it earned the respect of more than just an unwashed group of people seeking a certain 'uniqueness' to their life.

I'm not going to rant about religion, I'm an atheist and believe that religion is the worst thing that has ever happened to mankind but I'm not going to list the million reasons why it is bad on here. What I am going to say is: do we really need another one?