Druids

[Rika]

I've known a few neo-pagans of a couple different stripes - most of them seem to believe in an unbroken line of "secret" paganism and get their information from DJ Conway or Robert Graves, not by studying historical sources.

I'm sure there are a few druids (or other pagans) well-versed in the actual history of their chosen religion, just as there's a group in every "woo" area that has a somewhat educated grasp on themselves, but I've yet to encounter one.

Actually, there are and the number is growing. A lot of it is a backlash against the various Wiccan traditions that for so long espoused such a belief in an unbroken Witchcraft Tradition like what Gardner claimed to have been initiated into. Reconstructionists are the prime example. The majority of them acknowledge they cannot fully know what the ancients thought, believed, or practiced, but do their best to approximate it and adapt it to the modern world. Many of them study historical and archaeological sources (primary sources being preferred) to try and "reconstruct" the practices as much as possible.

For example, Hellenic Reconstructionists study Homer, Aristotle, Plato, Hesiod, and the like (as a scholar would) as well as the work of historical scholars in their field of study. You won't find a true Reconstructionist who literally believes in the myths nor truly believes they are practicing just as the ancients did, but they do believe they are doing the best they can with the knowledge available at this time.

They also tend to hate the neo/fluffy authors running rampant in the Pagan community at the moment.