[HPforGrownups] God in the WW?

[An'nai Jiriki]

No: HPFGUIDX 132119

--- tania_schr <tania_schr at hotmail.com> wrote:
This is the question: Does the WW believe
> in God? He asks 
> this because they celebrate Christmas with a dinner
> and exchange 
> presents, but nothing is ever heard about going to
> church or anything 
> like that.  Any thoughts?
> 
> Tania


I think the problem with religion is which one? (No, I
do not want an answer).  For my discussion, I will
ignoring denomonations unless I specify.

In the USA and Europe, there has been a marked
decrease in the number of people who are religious. 
In other parts of the world, the opposite is true.  

While obviously flying broom, carpets and wambats
would all be hidden from the non-wizarding public, I
think the lesser magics would be used.

In Africa, traditional religions are still practiced
heavily even when Christianity has been imposed. 
Witch doctors and regular doctors use their own magic
to help diagnose and heal patients.  In fantasy, why
would the wizarding portions of the African people cut
themselves off? It doesn't take a stretch to beleive
witch doctors may just be witchs or wizards.

In Asia, especially the the more remote areas, they
still practice native religions and medicine.  The
same as was in Africa rings true in Asia. The kink I
see in Asia is the prevalence of Buddism.  As a
Buddist myself, I do not see how practicing fantasy
magic is compatable to the extent used in books, so we
shall leave that go.  

South America, Eastern Europe and Northern Asia all
have real witches and magic infused into their
culture.  I do not beleive that wizards would hide in
those parts of the world.

The middle east still seems to be a hot spot for
magic.  One of the Weasleys mentioned in PoA that the
old Egyptian wizards were good (paraphrasing).  It is
well documented in Egyptology that magic was used in
every aspect of Egyptian life. Even today, bizarres
sell all types of oddities such as monkey paws, snake
skins and all types of plants, just like the fictional
Knockturn Alley. Even the Koran does not regect magic
so much as it places emphasis on worship of Allah.
Creating a healing potion with prayer is still
accepted as good medicine.

It seems, in reality, that only the highly
industrialized countries of the world reject magic. 
Science has eliminated the use of magic, even though
certain things cannot be explained.  It would make
sense that a population that relied on the unexplained
would pull away.  

The 1000 years ago that Hogwarts was built, magic folk
and non-magic folk still mixed.  The pull happened
later, as evidence from the mythical fight between
Gryffindor and Slytherin. Merlin and Magic were still
accepted as normal in the times he lived (modern texts
suggest anywhere from 800CE to 1250CE).

I beleive it was Christianity's unrelenting view of
magic and women that drove the wizarding world
underground during the Crusade era of 1100CE to
1400CE.  'Infidels, Heathens and Alchemist' were the
ones to be put to death (Alchemy comming from the word
Al Kemi which was the arabic word for Egypt and thus,
magic). 

The celebration of Christmas and Easter would be
critical of anyone living near non-wizarding people
due to the cries of heresy during the Dark Ages. 
Those that did not go to church were labeled devil
worshipers and often tortured until a confession was
made and then driven from their towns.  Very rarely
was anyone burned or hanged (though the numbers get
high after several hundred years of 3-5 a year per
country).

I would beleive that there would have been witchs and
wizard that regected their magical upbringing in favor
of keeping in line with the Christian Church. Also, by
the ghosts of nuns, friars and the elusive St. Mungo,
it can be assumed that there were memebers of the
wizarding world highly involved with Christianity.

In conclusion, the role of religion would have played
out in the same manner for wizards as non-wizards. As
a religion ascends, the people around it are forced
into following it.  As a religion decends, people
drift away, keeping only the fuzzy good parts, like
Christmas and Easter for the presents and candy. 

Mezu

"You irritate me. Kill me now." ~Javert, Les Miserables


		
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