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

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 128528

Tonks:
> 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. 

SSSusan:
I'm in a conservative state in the U.S., and we do call it Spring 
Break, yes, but then the break is not tied to the date on which 
Easter falls, so that makes sense to me.  OTOH, everyone calls the 
end-of-year break "Christmas break" here.


Tonks: 
> 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!!
 

SSSusan:
I'm going to argue that it is not the case that Hogwarts would have 
to be a private Christian school simply because of this song sung by 
the suit of armor.  In the U.S., a school's suit of armor *could* 
sing "God Rest Ye Merry, Hippogriff" as long as it also sang "Frosty, 
the Snowman" and perhaps a lovely Kwaana piece as well!  We're not 
sure just what the full repertoire of the suits of armor is! :-)

Seriously, speaking as a school board member, I can say that it is 
*not* a universal truth for the U.S. that nothing religious is 
allowed in unless it's a parochial or religious school  It's simply 
not true that a school can't have Santa Claus in school.  Neither is 
it true that a school can't have a Christmas display or can't sing 
religious Christmas carols in a public school (US version of that 
term).  

What our state school board association attorneys have told us is 
that what matters is not doing EXCLUSIVELY one of those things.  IOW, 
if the choir is going to sing sacred Christmas carols, it also needs 
to sing a variety of other types of songs -- perhaps Hannukah & 
Kwaanza songs, secular songs, etc.  Same thing with holiday 
displays.  It's not that a school *can't* have a display which 
includes a manger scene.  It's that if the school is going to do 
that, it *also* needs to include non-Christian holiday images as 
well.  (Personally, I rather like the image of Rudolph the Red-Nosed 
Reindeer on the roof of the Bethlehem stable, with a Star of David up 
in the sky and a menorah in the window. :-))

I am inclined to agree with those who've argued that Hogwarts itself 
does not seem to be a Christian school.  I simply don't see any 
evidence for it.  I also don't go to the other extreme and assume 
it's a place where no student practices a relgious faith.  But to 
argue that "God Rest Ye Merry, Hippogriff" is evidence that Hogwarts 
must be a Christian school, based upon what happens here in the U.S. 
just doesn't quite work out, I don't think.

Siriusly Snapey Susan