Druidism is a pagan new religious movement which originated in 18th century Britain. Druidry was originally a cultural movement, and it did not gain religious or spiritual connotations until the 19th century; before then, its members considered themselves to be Christians. Neo-Druids sought to imitate Iron Age priests and revive indigenous British spirituality, and Druidism spread to Europe and countries with large European populations such as the United States. In 2008, there were 30,000 Druids in the United States, and, in 2003, 31% of them were Democrats (compared with 35.5% independent, 5.1% Libertarian, 4.6% Republican, and 3.6% Green). In 2001, there were also 30,569 Druids in England.