religion in Harry Potter?

[javasaurus]

Does Harry Potter go to church? They celebrate Halloween and Christmas (not Yule), Harry has a godfather, there is an afterlife, as demonstrated by the existence of Peeves and Nearly-Headless Nick and Moaning Murtle. It has been suggested online that Harry was raised Protestant, Ron is from a large Catholic family (stereotyping?), and that Hermione is Jewish (though she does send Harry a Christmas present). I don't remember if the graveyard scene in Goblet had a cross (movie or book). The Dursleys tell neighbors and relatives that Harry goes to a school called Saint Brutus'.

So I think church and God exist in the world of Harry Potter, but we are seeing the world through Harry's eyes, not an objective lens. If the Dursleys went to church it was to meet societal expectations, not to pray, and they would not have taken Harry, so there was really no religion in the Dursley house. And without a religious upbringing, Harry (and thus the audience) may be oblivious to the religious inclinations of those around him.

Comments

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

some would have proposed she was proselytizing, which she certainly wouldn't have wanted to be seen as since it would have distracted from the message.

I don't think she has let what others would think heavily influence her writing (except that bit of changing language for us dumb Americans in especially book 1). Would having an openly religious character (Christian or otherwise) have distracted from the message? Hmmmm...which message? Certainly one of the recurring themes is that all teenagers are a bit awkward, unsure, trying to find their way to adulthood. We openly see the struggles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Neville is an extreme case, but even Malfoy is portrayed as more bluster than self-assuredness.

I don't mean to suggest that the book needs a religious character, but I do think it would have made for an interesting minor character, and could have led to interesting introspection for Harry. It is an interesting omission (even if logical, given the English background as you've described it), but not the only one. Another LJ blog (I forget which) noted that fiction was a missing component of the wizardly world of Hogwarts (though investigation in that direction recalled that Ron had a comic book). It is interesting that a world so rich in detail glosses over certain aspects of life altogether.

As for the reaction of religious zealots to the Harry Potter series, that's getting a little off topic, and gives me a headache, so I'm going to ignore that for now.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

how would she reconcile, or hint that her readers reconcile, the possible relationship between magic and the miracles of the Bible?

would walking on water be magic? wine from water? was Jesus a Wizard? How many other miracles would suddenly have explanations because of magic?

how much of the discussion of the characters and their lives, the very discussion that encourages book sales, be lost by the inevitable discussion of faith and how her version of it inevitably conflicts with most dogmas. miracles aren't meant to be explained or explainable.

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

She gives us a world where magic is real, yet Christianity exists (even if only seen at the fringes like "Christmas" and "St. Brutus") -- so this automatically creates questions such as you ask, even if J.K.R. doesn't explicity state them.

As for reconciling the relationship between magic and miracles, why would she need to? To do so would involve explaining how magic works, explaining how miracles work, and then explaining the difference. She cannot do any of these, so she doesn't try, and most people probably don't even notice (or is that your point?)

I'd say this regarding Jesus and wizards -- wizards can't raise the dead, and can't rise from the dead, so there's still a significant difference.