The Sociology of Harry Potter: 22 Enchanting Essays on the Wizarding World

by Unknown

  The final word must go to Rowling herself, who said about her avowed Christian faith in an interview that “I think you can see that in the books” (Lindell 2007), which led to headlines such as ‘Christianity Inspired Harry Potter’ (Petre 2007). However, she has also made it clear that her “faith is sometimes that my faith will return” (Petre 2007) and, more directly, “I did not set out to convert anyone to Christianity” (Bailey 2011).

  For much of the pro argument it is the differentiation between good and evil that makes Harry Potter religiously acceptable. It is a differentiation that is not always clear in the storylines, something that critics, such as Fr Amorth (Lawler 2002), have made much of. The character of Severus Snape is morally divided: he appears evil, but works for the good. Even the character of Potter struggles with the connection between himself and Voldemort, fearing that he is becoming like him and being perceived as being like him by the other pupils, as “the heir of Slytherin” (COS: 198-199), for example. That said, the storyline over the series clearly resolves into the choice between presentations of what is intended to be ‘good’ and ‘evil.’

  However, the polarisation of good versus evil is not an exclusively Christian theme. Even if the character of Harry Potter, like Jesus, does sacrifice himself for his believers, that is not an exclusively Christian theme either. The widespread idea of the sacrificial god can be studied at length in Sir James George Frazer’s monumental The Golden Bough (1890 and other editions), although, admittedly, few people are going to be aware of the commonality of this theme. Rowling is right to distance herself from Wicca and it is unlikely that any Wiccans, despite her claims, would see her imaginative world as in any way Wiccan. Steve Paine, speaking for the Pagan Federation, noted the stories were popular amongst Pagans but were “taken as fantasy entertainment” (BBC 2000). Where Wicca is a nature religion expressed as the veneration of fertility through engendered duality (Goddess and Horned God) with an eightfold ritual calendar celebrating seasonal change, the ‘wizarding world’ is essentially a secular construct revolving around pedagogic (Hogwarts) and bureaucratic (the Ministry of Magic) constellations. For Rowling magic is a technology, albeit a supernatural one, but not a faith. The Harry Potter series remains, if anything, religiously neutral, playing out its conflicts within the context of modern liberal ideology rather than theology. With the obvious parallels between Voldemort’s reign and the Nazi regime, the choice between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ takes a political, rather than a religious cast. Positive religious responses are, therefore, just as guilty of distorting the Harry Potter series as negative ones.

  “You Can’t Give a Dementor the Old One-Two”: Conclusion

  Jack T. Chick is believed to have sold more than 500 million copies of his comic book ‘tracts’ promoting his polemical interpretation of Christianity and earning him the title of “the world’s most published author” (Ito 2003: 56). His sales have even beaten the astonishing success of the Harry Potter series, currently at 450 million copies sold (BBC 2011), but “The Nervous Witch,” although reproduced in full on the website, is no longer stocked by Chick Publications (Chick 2002).

  Even ten years ago, before the release of the film adaptations, awareness of Harry Potter was extremely high with Gallup (Jones 2000) finding that 71 per cent of American adults had heard of the books. Amongst them, 52 per cent approved of the books, 41 per cent had no opinion and only seven per cent disapproved. What these figures would suggest is that it is only a vocal minority who are pushing the anti-Potter agenda. Yet we have seen that that minority was able to bring the Harry Potter books to the forefront of public debate.

  However, attempts to ban the book were either ineffectual, as in the Mallory case, or produced only temporary and localised censure, as in the Rookwood case. Destruction of the book was a symbolic gesture, headline grabbing to be sure, but one that was ultimately more futile – after all, the protesters had to buy the copies they destroyed and arguably made Harry Potter more appealing through such controversy. Notably, amongst the lists of books burnt and complained of there was no mention of actual books about Wicca or the occult. Given the non-religious context of the ‘wizarding world,’ the presentation of magic by itself was no challenge to secularisation, instead being perceived of as a threat to particular religious outlooks. The sales figures alone show that the anti-Potter lobby has had little or no negative impact on the popularity of the franchise.

  ‘Harry Potter’ became an empty phrase in the ongoing conflict over the Western mind. Christians such as Chick appear to have little or no knowledge of the content of the Harry Potter books or films, but simply use the phrase as a magnet and focusing point for a constellation of ideas inimicable to the ‘anything goes’ direction of post-modern, post-industrial, post-Christian, pro-consumer society. The flawless packaging, distribution, marketing and consumption of Harry Potter in multiple media configurations attest to its successful integration into that society.

  However, it is not simply the case that “either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives” (OOTP 741). Harry Potter was also praised. Attempts to subvert Harry Potter as a Christian story have been almost as widespread and numerous as attempts to censure Harry Potter, yet it is the case that a religiously neutral story is innocent on both charges of either promoting the occult or championing Christianity. Instead, it could be argued that the groups demanding the destruction or assimilation of Potter were in fact exhibiting symptoms of their own crises in line with Marwick’s (1964) social strain gauge theory, although in a different, globalised context. Notably, Rowling herself was not accused of being a witch, [2] although she found it necessary to deny that she was one. The ‘occult’ within the Harry Potter series is simply a fantasy milieu, whilst the ‘occult’ functions within religious extremism as a socially cohesive force, an ‘enemy’ that the faithful can face together, but at the same time the intense concern demonstrates fears of social disintegration (‘strain’) in the face of a dominant culture that has left religious certainties behind.

  Notes

  [1] This is a reconstructed narrative based on Chick, 2002.

  [2] The few sources making this accusation are web based, such as the ‘God Hates Harry Potter’ page on the godhatesgoths.com website (http://godhatesgoths.com/godhatesharrypotter.html, retrieved July 15, 2011), and such accusations have not been reported in the media nor in the published anti-Potter literature as far as I am aware.

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  HOGWARTS DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

  Dr. Drew Chappell is a performance studies scholar with interests in play, cultural representation, and childhood studies. He is the editor of Children Under Construction: Critical Essays on Play as Curriculum (Peter Lang 2010) and teaches in the department of theatre and dance at California State University Fullerton. He earned an MFA in theatre for youth from the University of Texas and a PhD in theatre from Arizona State University. Dr. Chappell has been traveling the world studying the intersections of magic, performance, and history. Along the way, he has visited some fascinating places, including the ruins of Stonehenge (where he could still feel magic flowing) and the ocean reefs off Maui (where he cast a spell to speak with the fish, who had much to say about the rise of the tourist industry). In addition to teaching and research, he is an award winning playwright whose work focuses on issues that affect both children and adults. He is a member of Ravenclaw House and his favorite character is housemate Luna Lovegood. His wand core contains a selkie claw.