What is JKR's religious beliefs?

[Steve <bboy_mn@yahoo.com>]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" <kcawte at b...>
wrote:

bboy_mn Preface:

Indeed we are in dangerous territory when we talk about religion even
in an off-topic group. I do not want this to decend into us all
ranting and raving about religion in general, and I'm sure every one
feels the same. So, I will truly try to restain myself.
-end this part-

>  
> 
> bboy_mn originally said:
>  
> Equally fair is the assumption that someone born in Britian and 
> named Rowling is Christian. 
>  
> That combined with her own statements of the fact.
>  
> People who assume she IS are making a fair assumption, people who
> assume she is not are making an irrational assumption ...
>  
> Nuf said.
>  
> bboy_mn



> Kathryn:  
>  
> You seem to be working off the assumption that everyone who assumes 
> she isn't Christian is assuming that she's some kind of satanist ...
> -end this part-

bboy_mn now says:
If the assumption that she is not a Christian is an attempt to
discredit her in any way then yes, I think they are assuming that she
is a satanist, which I wholly and fully acknowledge is completely
different than a pagan. 

If someone assumed she was a buddhist or even an athiest, I would bear
no ill will, but I am specifically talking about people who are
accusing her of not being a Christian in an attempt to imply that she
is ANTI-Christian, and is actively and even covertly through her books
promoting that anti-Christian belief. (Perhaps counter-Christian would
be better than anti-christian)
-bboy_mn-end this part-



> Kathryn: 
> 
> Anyway the point I was making was that while it would be reasonable 
> to assume that she was baptized into Church of England/Scotland, 
> without reading her interviews, it would also be perfectly 
> reasonable to assume that she has *no* real faith of any kind. 
> ..edited...

bboy_mn:
I will almost agree with you. It is reasonable to assume that it is
POSSIBLE that she has no real faith or an alternate faith, but it is
not reasonable to assume it is LIKELY.
-end this part-


> Kathryn: 
> The majority of my group were christened in a church but practice 
> no religion and enter a church only for the required appearances at 
> christenings, marriages and funerals.
> 
> Being christened in a certain faith surely doesn't really make you 
> a member of that faith if you don't believe in it or follow it's 
> teachings ...edited...
> -end this part-

bboy_mn again in dangerous territory:
The measure of a person's faith in not in how often they go into that
big building on the corner with the tall steeple, or whether they list
themselves under the name of a specific organization (Baptist,
Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, etc...), it is in a deep personal
belief in a higher moral power and a genuine attempt to adhere to the
moral code reflected in that moral power.
-end this part-

> Kathryn: 
> 
> ... back to the original post -  the person the original
> poster ... was talking about isn't allowed to read harry potter for
> religious reasons then you might mention that the Archbishop of 
> Canterbury said in an interview that he liked the Harry Potter
> books  ...
> -end this part-

bboy_mn:
Which is exactly why I said -

" The Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and
representatives of ever major Christian religion have endorsed 
JKR's books."
-end this part-


> Kathryn: 
> ... i was just trying to illustrate that it's perfectly possible 
> for a 'rational person' with no agenda at all to wonder if JK 
> Rowling was a Christian.
> ...edited...
> 
> K

bboy_mn:
In general, I did understand what the point you were trying to make,
but there is a big difference between someone who might assume she is
a Buddhist (or whatever), and those who have jumped to the conclusion
that she is Anti-Christian. The implication is that if you are not for
US then you are automatically against us; relative to Christianity and
relative to their personal opinions that are independant of the facts.

When most other religions in the world are ask about the religious
diversity found on this earth, their response is simply, 'Different
roads to the same destination'. Christians, especially fundamentalist
or more properly, obsessively fundamentalist Christians are incline to
say, 'It's our way or no way'.

If I had found out that JKR was a Buddhist or even a Moslem, I would
have been incline to hold her in higher regard rather than less
because she would have look for and found the road to the common
destination that suited her best rather than blindly following the
sheep. That certainly would deserve admiration. 

But whether she is indifferent to religion as sadly most people are,
or whether she follows a non-standard faith (reads - not Christian),
or whether she choses her own personal path, I will not stand by idly
while irrational uninformed people accuse her of being against
Christianity because she wrote a fairytale the included witches,
wizards, and magic.

I do not rile against those people who would speculate on the possible
diversity of her belief sytem, but against those with self-serving
agendas who would attempt to discredit her, when they so obviously
don't know what they are talking about.

I have the utmost respect of all positive moral belief systems and am
a firm believer in 'different roads to the same destination'. Sadly
those who would accuse JKR are not so enlightened.

In summary, I was not speaking against general speculation, which we
are all free to do, but against ridiculously, irrational, and
uninformed speculation about JKR. Any venom you may have detected was
directed at those people and certainly not at you.

Hope I haven't made things worse.

bboy_mn