[HPforGrownups] Wizard Religion / Wizards and their eye-wear/ meddlesome fools/ Hermione in myth fools/ Hermione in myth

[AD]

No: HPFGUIDX 48144

Disclaimer:  This is my first post, and I'm probably doing it all wrong.  I
hope that a helpful Elf will advise me of my mistakes.  :)

I find this thread extremely interesting, and have been trying to keep up
with all its posts -- but failing in the attempt.  (I need a Time-Turner,
badly, just to get through my average day.)  And I feel sure that someone
must have pointed this out already, but if so, I haven't found the message...

What about the numerous 'witch-hunts' throughout history?  Weren't most of
them performed in the nominal name of Christianity?  Wouldn't that history
of Christian persecution sour some/many/most people in the WW toward the
religion -- or at the least, create a conviction that even if the faith
itself is on target, the Muggles performing it are doing it entirely the
wrong way?

For that matter, it seems to me that every human religion in its current
form is defined by our perception of the universe, and what is possible and
not possible.  But many of the 'miraculous deeds' performed in the Old and
New testaments could have been performed (or simulated) by a
moderately-trained witch or wizard -- which would reduce or entirely
eliminate the sense of awe and reverence associated with such deeds.  For
that reason, I personally have trouble envisioning anyone in the WW being
"extremely religious" -- at least, according to any of the parameters *we*
would set for religion.  Part of the purpose of religion, in human
psychology, is to explain the unexplainable... but as people in the WW
would have very different parameters of 'unexplainable', it seems foolish
to think that their version of religion would have much in common with
ours, even if the names were the same.

No doubt, someone has also already pointed out that the trappings of
Christmas -- the decorations and trees and so forth -- actually predate the
traditions of Christianity, going back to old Pagan traditions.  I'm not a
historian and can't debate the topic with any great degree of knowledge,
but I do know that most of our 'modern' holidays are associated with
traditions that have been around since effectively forever.  So there's no
reason why the WW wouldn't use the same methods of celebration as the
Muggle world, but perhaps with a different (or no) significance to them.

But another question that's probably already been raised -- How would a
Muggle-born witch or wizard who was raised in an extremely religious family
adapt to the knowledge of his or her nature?  So many lines of faith state
that magic is inherently evil, comes from Satan, etc...  How would the
child cope with the knowledge?  And what would his/her family do?  And
what, if any, intervention would come from the WW? 

...Here's hoping I didn't mess up this first post too badly, or restate the
obvious (or other people's questions) too many times.  :)

=AD