The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
First Corinthians 15:26
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Matthew 6:21
The first entry is from the grave marker of James and Lily Potter; the second from that of Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore. Neither are mentioned as being scripture; Harry particularly does not understand the meaning of the passage from First Corinthians and wonders that it sounds like a "Death Eater idea".
What then should we make of the fact that Christian scripture makes its first appearance in the final Harry Potter volume? What should we make of the fact that the characters do not recognize it as such?
While the Harry Potter books have always been multi-ethnic, they have never been religiously pluralistic. Characters such as Anthony Goldstein, Parvati Patil, and Cho Chang are not observed to practice other faiths. Christmas and Easter are universal (and secularly observed) holidays. Absolute evidence of an afterlife of sorts is indisputable from the first book, although never in any way fleshed out. Dark magic does not draw from a different source than other magic; it is dark due to its effects on others alone.
Of course, it is difficult to know what intent lies behind these choices; certainly, much of the books is Ms. Rowling herself. Yet, it is striking to note that such effort has been made to demonstrate ethnic diversity among the Magical population, as well as extraordinary and impressive work in dealing with economic diversity and its effects, yet religious diversity is completely overlooked. Further, while the case could be made that introducing the issue of religion in an overt manner would make the books far more complicated (as well as dilute their broader appeal), the choice to deliberately quote scripture and yet to deny the characters the understanding that it was scripture brings up difficult and unavoidable questions.
So, I put the question to the many of you who care deeply about Harry Potter. Do you find the placement of Scriptural quotes on the graves of the Potters and Dumbledores significant? Do you think it matters that Harry and Hermione don’t recognize it as such? Do you think the secular Christianity that is uniform in the books despite the vast diversity of other characteristics is of significance?
I’m not sure what I make of it, myself. But it leads me to wonder if my confusion and discomfort about the topic has a relationship with my confusion and discomfort with the role of religion in American public life. It brings up my discomfort with the political and social custom of making Christian observance and Christian holidays part of public life in America, and my rebounding feeling of how I ought to simply let it go, and accept that the overwhelming majority of Christians are not trying to exclude me simply by being blatantly Christian. It also brings up my personal Zionism, and Israeli background, and my choice to believe in the dual and competing values of pluralistic diversity and yet also with Jewish self-determination.
So perhaps talking about it with you can help me gain insight.
(This diary was, in part, inspired by this remarkably annoying review by Christopher Hitchens)