Druidry revolves largely around the veneration of nature, with Phil Ryder stating that “within Druidry, Nature is considered to be unconditionally sacred and an expression or manifestation of deity and divinity”. Many Druids are animists, which is sometimes mischaracterized by modern commentators as “nature worship.” Most Druids see all aspects of nature as imbued with spirit or soul, whether or not they interpret that literally or metaphorically. Like the deities of the Celts, the animals and plants are seen as members of a tuath, or tribe. The spirits of nature are seen as relatives of an extended family and are therefore honored as kin. The whole of nature along with the other spirits of the unseen realm are seen as a large tribe of tribes, a familial way of describing the interconnectedness of the ecosystem that is the earth. The Goddess Danu gives her name to the family of Irish deities, which in the Gaelic is the Tuatha De Danann. The hierarchical concept of worship involving submission and obedience by us as lesser beings is not a concept compatible with Druidry, despite the frequent misunderstanding base on the Judeo-Christian hierarchical concept of worship.
It is because they view the natural world as being sacred that many Druids have become involved in environmentalism.
Some Druids, such as members of Ar nDraiocht Fein, are polytheists, thereby worshipping various different gods and goddesses, who “are worthy of respect, love and worship”. These deities are commonly taken from historical Celtic polytheism, though can also come from other sources, such as Christianity.
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