Ummm I think Harry Potter would be on more of a Christian side.... like the 'good' side rather than the 'bad' side. So what if they do magic..... We all know it is fake and we will never do Dark Magic or any magic. I think everyone if not most people know real from fake. I don't see them complaining about Sabrina the Teenage Witch or other shows and books that has witchcraft and such...

This actually isn't about complaining (for once) it's just a debate to see if Harry Potter contains Christian themes/elements or not.

Exactly. Not that being "unreligious" equals bad. But they need to give us credit for realizing that HP isn't real, and that a little innocent fun in believing or pretending for a while isn't going against Christian principles. I agree with Emma on the whole Easter, Christmas and Christening: you can have magic co-existing with Christianity, especially in a fiction book. It's cool that they're coming up with a debate, they're not really angry about anything, just curious about the other side.

celebrating those holidays does not have to mean ur Christian but does it really matter??? i mean i'm catholic and it would be nice to think that harry was christian but it would not make me want to read the books more than i do now.

Even I have Easter and Christmas and I'm not Christian. I don't think those are very valid points.

I think Harry is christian. Why do people take it so seriously? Come on it's a book about Good and Evil, but it's in a wizardy form, I mean who would want to read a book about 3 ordinary children in a boarding school have something against the headmaster or whatever.

^Christians are not the only one with ideas about good and evil...I don't think that HP is Christian...it just tackles universal issues and themes that anyone could relate to.

^I agree!!

I don't believe HP has any specific religion in it. If there is, I missed it! If JK wrote religion in these books she didn't make it profound. Probably for reason. It's all fiction, religion or not!

i never thought of Harry Potter as a religious thing, not even of a second. no matter if they link it to Christianity, Islamic, Buddist, anything.

to me, a fantasy book that makes you feel happy reading it is just a book. if he celebrates Xmas, then fine. its because the author is British. i mean you don't expect her to write a story that has no connection to the real world. if not, she would have added a Bon Dori Festival or even a Cherry Blossom festival. ( Japanese Festival) but Hogwarts is in the UK region. not in asia, or anything.

i never liked it when i read about people who have nothing better to do than point fingers and linking it to religion. if that was the case, then why not say "internet" is the devil?

I agree with tonks26, Christians are not the only ones on the whole "good vs. evil" schtick. In many cultures and religions, there are symbols of good things, and those things also have an evil/bad counterpart. There is a balance to all things, whether you are religious or not. I was baptized, raised Christian, I celebrate Christmas as Yule or Winter Solstice, but I am not Christian. And, going off on a slight tangent, Christianity celebrates a lot of things that were originally pagan ideas: Jack-o-lanterns, Christmas trees, the Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs. So to debate whether Harry Potter is Christian or not is irrelevant, because Christians celebrate holidays that would, by some, be considered very 'un-Christian like' if they knew it was based on paganism/witchcraft. For anyone to condemn Harry Potter and/or witchcraft is ludicrous, because they themselves are guilty of what they charge...Sorry, I get a bit fired up about prejudice. I love everyone, and I say do as you wish, harming none.
So to get out of your hair, now, I agree with Marcella_Riddle, Mikaela, tonks26, Madame_Tonks, and Riiya

I can understand why people would say its Christian, and why people say that it isn't. True, it is good vs evil, but then again the Bible tells us not to practice witchcraft and stuff like that. I am a born-again Christian, but I still enjoy Harry Potter. I realize that Witchcraft is evil, but other books have symbolically linked Wizards to JEsus (i.e., The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf symbolizes Jesus, etc.) My friends and I have this conversation all the time, but you know, what it really boils down to is your individual opinions and beliefs.

I think though, that if an author wants to target a certain group of people, then he or she needs to relate to what they would be interested in. It wouldn't have quite the same effec if JRR Tolkien didn't portray the characters as he did, and had just rewrote the Bible. I'm pretty sure that a fantasy story interests many more people.

~Ian

P.S. I'm sorry if I offended anyone who may be reading this. I realize that Christianity is not the only belief, and I'm sorry if I sound ignorant. I'm really not.

I wondered myself if he was a Christian... hm...

I wouldnt really say that Harry Potter himself is a christian but maybe the whole Wizarding world could fall into being some kind of religion like christianity. Some aspects such as the fight against the evil dark side and all. Maybe Voldemort could be seen as some sort of satan or devil. But its up to the readers what they see it as I suppose. I dont that J.K had in mind Christianity when she was writing the books, so as I said its probably up to what the reader sees it as, rather than whats in the text. Any Christian inspiration that does come out of the books is symbolic and played in a different manner rather than a christian one. I personally dont get reminded about Christianity when i read the books but i think that if I were to go back and look at some situations in the book, that i could maybe make some associations.

I wonder who will win the debate. I would love to be there. Personally, I don't think that Harry nor wizards have a religion. I believe they simply either choose the good or the bad side. Now some wizards might have decided to go into a religion, but it's not very important to the books or anything. Every one believes in what they want to. It shouldn't be a bad thing to not have a religion.

A good way to solve this debate would to just ask JK. lol

Then technically you are Christian, you're celebrating a festival for it. I mean, it's sorta wrong to celebrate something you don't believe in.

I think it could lean toward Christianity because Potter was christened. But it's not religious at all - it just respresents popular culture within HP. Alot of the stuff in there probably mirrors christianity because that's the primary relgions of the country, most people celebrate christmas and easter for the right reasons and have christenings so it's befitting that Harry would too.

Christmas and Easter have lost their religious aspects where I live. They're more like Thanksgiving-just an excuse to get the family together and eat a lot (and give/get presents or go egg-hunting). No one I know goes to the morning service or anything; maybe JK put it in because they're national holidays and not necessarily religious anymore.

As much as I hate to admit it, isawfred1st is right. Christmas and Easter have become secularized.

But consider this: the Hogwarts kids celebrate a secular version of Christmas, and while Halloween is mentioned, it doesn't seem as big a deal as Christmas. In contrast, they don't celebrate Midsummer/Midwinter, Samhain, or any other holidays associated with witchcraft at all.

Personally, I think they should bring in Connie Neal.

It's a book... it doesn't have to have religious. Maybe it is Christian.. maybe its not. Makes no difference to me!

Why don't they ask J.K. if she meant it to be Christian?
I don't think it is Christian. It may be good triumphing over evil, but all books/stories/movies are.

the question ought to be whether the harry potter stories reflect
values and traits that our religions are supposed to be teaching us?
it seems to me that religion's main positive objective is to help people understand the meaning of values, why they are important
and help people to make good decisions based on their values.

insofar as most religions in some manner teach that people should be good and loving toward each other, be loyal to friends,
stand up to make difficult choices and learn from the consequensces when we choose wrong...i think the HP stories
qualify as pro-values.

some people have a hard time reconciling stories involving 'witches' and 'wizards' and 'magic' where these can signify and embody good as well as evil with the teachings of their particular religion. like dumbledore said in essence: "it is not our abilities that make us who we are...it is our choices".

Um, no.

"Technically" you are Christian if you believe Jesus Christ to be the savior of the world and try to follow His teachings.


Back to topic, I think it's a silly debate but at least it seems they are trying to equally depict both views.

I think WildAboutHarry has a very good point:

ummmm well christmas and halloween and easter is celebrated by many people ... not necessary that he is a christian .. and we have to read the fictionous story not the religions...!

Ok then not technically but I think they may be used to show how the festivals are celebrated even if it`s wrong to do so ie; it` s obviously wrong to celebrate something you don`t believe in. For instance, I would not celebrate Rammadan because I am not Muslim and so in the same respect Christmas should be celebrated by those who believe in the essence of it.

JK uses it to show how the UK has become motivated by popular culture - but then it could be arguably more religious because JK does not bring Father Christmas into the festivities. In the UK people use Christmas as an excuse to get drunk and forget the real meaning of it.


That`s probably because JK`s portrayal of Witchcraft is not a religion whereas Wicca, a branch of Witchcraft, is a religious-like practice.

What I find interesting is the whole Christening thing. I know alot of people who aren`t Christened because they don`t believe in it so the Potters must`ve believed in it to do it or else have followed the crowd.

I don`t think it`s silly because debates, when conducted properly, can only be good. They open up minds and share ideas. I think it`s also very relevant, the possibility of religious motivation, because tid bits of it do crop up in her books. Per example, C.S.Lewis has Aslan the Lion as a sacrificial figure, sacrifical love. The Potters sacrificed themselves out of love as did Christ arguably and what is even more intriguing is that the lion repeatedly symbolises self-sacrificing love in novels and then JK chooses the lion as a symbol for arguably the best house within the school. I don`t think that`s coincidence.

I think it`s great that people relate JK`s work to something good rather than using the Bible to condemn it.

it just represents popular culture within HP. Alot of the stuff in there probably mirrors christianity because that's the primary religion of the UK, most people celebrate christmas and easter for the right reasons and have christenings so it's befitting that Harry would too.

Actually I dont find anything "religeous" in Harry Potter.The fact that they celebrate Easter and Christmas do not make it religeous though they are christian religeous festivals.I dont see Harry Potter going to church in the books. Even if they would bring christianity into the Harry Potter books I dont think it would be a good idea because religeous institutions would think that they link up Christianity with... ahem...satanic witchcraft(according to them which to me is not true cause Harry Potter does not have anything satanic in it). -_-