Religion in US, UK, Hogwarts Schools (was I saw (more than) three ships ...

[Tonks]

No: HPFGUIDX 128523

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "deborahhbbrd" <hubbada at u...> 
wrote:
> 
> It seems to me, and this is pretty vague because I've never been
> there, that the USA is a much more religion-minded place - there is
> still social pressure on people to go to church, and it is assumed
> that normal, decent people will always choose to do so. (It has 
often been suggested that nobody with a naturalistic turn of mind 
could succeed in American politics.) Am I right? And does this 
explain the sense of bewilderment that I sometimes detect when 
American posters seem to long for evidence of Christian beliefs in 
the WW? Not in the minds of the author or her readers, but in the 
characters themselves?> 
(Snip)
> British schools all have Easter and Christmas breaks, called by 
those names and enjoyed by one and all - (snip)


Tonks:
Interesting!!  I am from the U.S. and I think that way about the 
U.K!  Maybe we are more alike than we know.  Most people here in the 
U.S. are not religious and do not go to church.  I think that in 
some parts of the country
 the States that voted for Bush, there 
might be more conservative Christians, but not in my state.  In 
those *other* states and especially in small conservative towns 
there might be a push for people to go to church and at least 
pretend to be religious. In Texas maybe??  Also those tend to be the 
area that are mostly anti-Harry Potter, as odd as that seems to some 
of us, and to JKR herself. 

There is a difference in the *political correctness* between the 2 
countries.  I do business with a company that has a branch in both 
countries.  At Christmas I got a *Happy Holidays* e-card from the 
U.S. branch on Dec. 24rd.  And from the U.K. branch a *Merry 
Christmas* e-card the same day.   And I loved it.. the U.K. one.  I 
said.. "Thank goodness someone somewhere can still say *Merry 
Christmas* 1 day before *Christmas*!!!"    

As to the Christmas and Easter breaks at school. Here in the U.S. it 
is winter break and spring break. Santa can't even come to school. 
And Santa is a somewhat secular concept, but even he can't come into 
a U.S. school. For that matter I don't think that they do Halloween 
parties anymore either. 

To tie all of this back to HP.  A school like Hogwarts would have to 
be a private Christian school, because in the U.S. we would not 
allow the suits of armor to sing those songs!!

God rest ye merry Hippogriff, let nothing you dismay, remember Harry 
Potter was born on that fine day, to save us all from Voldy's power 
when we have gone astray...  it works.  Opps... no it doesn't, I 
can't say the G word either. And I suspect that the authorities 
would recognize the tune and say that was a no, no too.  So the U.K. 
from my perspective is much more *religious*.  

Tonks_op