"Harry Potter" an Atheist

Taure · Jul 8, 2009

In an interview with Esquire magazine, Radcliffe risked the US box office prospects of the new Harry Potter film by declaring himself to be an atheist

In a pronouncement that will dismay America's religious Right, which has long voiced suspicions about Potter's "anti-Christian" message, the 19-year-old actor said he did not believe in God.

He also expressed his admiration for Professor Richard Dawkins, the prominent atheist and bete noir of Evangelical Christians.

Radcliffe has been reticent on the subject of religion in the past, but in an interview to promote the latest instalment in the film franchise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, released on July 15, he said: "I'm an atheist, but I'm very relaxed about it. I don't preach my atheism, but I have a huge amount of respect for people like Richard Dawkins who do. Anything he does on television, I will watch."

He joked: "There we go, Dan, that's half of America that's not going to see the next Harry Potter film on the back of that comment."

JK Rowling's stories of the schoolboy wizard are taken very seriously by some Evangelical Christians in the United States. One of the largest Christian groups in the country, Focus on the Family, denounced the books as "witchcraft".

Conversely, the Church of England published a guide advising youth leaders to use Harry Potter to spread the Christian message, as the characters face "struggles and dilemmas that are familiar to us all".

Source: Daniel Radcliffe: a cool nerd - Telegraph

Thoughts?

None too surprising to me, as I pretty much assume people are atheists unless something makes me think otherwise (in IRL, obviously not on this site lol). Still, what fallout do you think this will have?

clarksided · Jul 8, 2009

Harry Potter has corrupted another soul!

Run for the hills!

On a more serious note, it's hard not to assume someone's religion on this site due to the convenient religion icons.

explodingboy · Jul 8, 2009

I thought the Religious Right had Harry Potter on the black list .. ever since book 1, surely he can't lose any more support from a group which have already complained about every other aspect of the franchise.

As to the fallout, I'm sure most of the conservative sites will go on about boycotting the film because he's athiest even though non of them were likely too see it to begin with due to pretty much every other aspect of the film. (America wise), Europe on the other, probably nothing will happen at all.

suzybeezy · Jul 8, 2009

What I found funny about the article is that it said that Radcliffe is a fan of Richard Dawkins, but then goes on to say that Prof Dawkins, is no fan of Harry Potter. lol kinda funny

Anyway I would have been more shocked in Radcliffe came out of all this being a Christian after being immersed by this for so many years. If you figure what most Christian parents concerns were about the whole Harry Potter series is how it would have a desensitizing effect on child about the occult, witchcraft, sorcery, darkness, etc. and most parents were concerned that it could influence children away from God. Now you have the star of the series essentially proving their concerns valid.

pgp_protector · Jul 8, 2009

Harry Potter is a Fictional character not an Atheist, Christian, Buddhist, or anything.

keith99 · Jul 8, 2009

suzybeezy said:
What I found funny about the article is that it said that Radcliffe is a fan of Richard Dawkins, but then goes on to say that Prof Dawkins, is no fan of Harry Potter. lol kinda funny

Anyway I would have been more shocked in Radcliffe came out of all this being a Christian after being immersed by this for so many years. If you figure what most Christian parents concerns were about the whole Harry Potter series is how it would have a desensitizing effect on child about the occult, witchcraft, sorcery, darkness, etc. and most parents were concerned that it could influence children away from God. Now you have the star of the series essentially proving their concerns valid.

If this were to serve to validate those concers shouldn't he be a practicing witch?

Supernaut · Jul 8, 2009

I find it amazing that the religious right chooses to focus so much on a movie series that is so "dangerous" and yet they applaud The Lion, The Witch, and THe Wardrobe" though a supporting character (Skandar Keynes) is also an atheist.

suzybeezy · Jul 8, 2009

keith99 said:
If this were to serve to validate those concers shouldn't he be a practicing witch?

LOL maybe its on his to do list - I dunno

explodingboy · Jul 8, 2009

suzybeezy said:
Anyway I would have been more shocked in Radcliffe came out of all this being a Christian after being immersed by this for so many years. If you figure what most Christian parents concerns were about the whole Harry Potter series is how it would have a desensitizing effect on child about the occult, witchcraft, sorcery, darkness, etc. and most parents were concerned that it could influence children away from God. Now you have the star of the series essentially proving their concerns valid.

Surely that only works if he was a Christian at the beginning of being hired to play a part in a film..

Theres no indication that his experiences from filming have made him an atheist (secondly if he was getting any mail from the harry potter is from satan crowd, I think that would do more to put someone off christianity than making a film about wizards would.)

SpaceProg · Jul 8, 2009

Meh, can't say I care too much. Radcliffe's religion--or lack of one--is his business.

Nathan Poe · Jul 8, 2009

Taure said:
Source: Daniel Radcliffe: a cool nerd - Telegraph

Thoughts?

Given that hardcore Christians steer clear of HP anyway because of witchcraft, I doubt that Radcliff's coming out as an Atheist is going to affect much.

MichaelFJF · Jul 8, 2009

Taure said:
Source: Daniel Radcliffe: a cool nerd - Telegraph

Thoughts?

None too surprising to me, as I pretty much assume people are atheists unless something makes me think otherwise (in IRL, obviously not on this site lol). Still, what fallout do you think this will have?

Thoughts? Yeah I have thoughts. Your thread title isn't even close to the title of the article, which, unfortunately is no longer a rule violation, but it is still pretty slimy. Also, it's a lie, since Harry Potter is a fictional character. So my overall "thought" is to ignore anything else you post, since you've been proven to be dishonest.

Richard · Jul 8, 2009

SpaceProg said:
Meh, can't say I care too much. Radcliffe's religion--or lack of one--is his business.

QFT. You are right. I still like the series and I will still go watch the movies and own all the books

SiderealExalt · Jul 8, 2009

pgp_protector said:
Harry Potter is a Fictional character not an Atheist, Christian, Buddhist, or anything.

Occasionally calling an actor by the name of a famous(usually the most famous) character they've played is not a terribly uncommon literary euphemism. It was rather obvious what the title actually meant.

That said, yeah I read about this a few days ago on the internet. I'm quite glad to hear it. And to clarify. Radcliff was referring to a deliberate misrepresentation of something Dawkins said that some religious groups tried to put a spin on. Dawkins mentioned he's never read the book series but during some comments about the HP series mentioned he would be interested in having a study conducted on how fairy tales and other supernatural stories taught to children would effect them. Some Christian groups used the comment to say he disliked the series.

ChaliceThunder · Jul 8, 2009

pgp_protector said:
Harry Potter is a Fictional character not an Atheist, Christian, Buddhist, or anything.

True.

And, the mature Christian will very plainly see a Christological allegory in the entire Potter series. It is in no way atheist.

SiderealExalt · Jul 8, 2009

ChaliceThunder said:
True.

And, the mature Christian will very plainly see a Christological allegory in the entire Potter series. It is in no way atheist.

You could also see the Jungian archetypes and probably the influences of Greek tragedy in it and all kinds of literary influences for that matter. The book series subject matter is theisticly neutral since there is no mention of any deities or lack there of at all.

Mling · Jul 9, 2009

I can't imagine this will affect anything. Anybody who would boycott a movie simply because the lead actor is atheist is probably already boycotting Harry Potter...for being Harry Potter.

Mling · Jul 9, 2009

And to be fair...I do think that a story about a boy who was saved from death by a loving self-sacrifice; untouchable by evil, from the power of that love; and who's main 'duty' and mission in life is reflect that love back onto the world, thus overcoming evil while remaining pure himself, has a definite Christian overtone to it.

Yes other religions, myths and cults have similar themes, but...I think it falls into the idea that ever story has already been written, including religions. And in this one, given the context in which it's usually read (the mainstream modern world, as opposed to ancient Rome), the themes seem most clearly connected to Christian ideals.

SiderealExalt · Jul 9, 2009

Mling said:
I can't imagine this will affect anything. Anybody who would boycott a movie simply because the lead actor is atheist is probably already boycotting Harry Potter...for being Harry Potter.

Definitely...radcliff even joked after he said he was an atheist in the interview that he probably just made some Americans not want to watch the next film.

And to be fair...I do think that a story about a boy who was saved from death by a loving self-sacrifice; untouchable by evil, from the power of that love; and who's main 'duty' and mission in life is reflect that love back onto the world, thus overcoming evil while remaining pure himself, has a definite Christian overtone to it.

Yes other religions, myths and cults have similar themes, but...I think it falls into the idea that ever story has already been written, including religions. And in this one, given the context in which it's usually read (the mainstream modern world, as opposed to ancient Rome), the themes seem most clearly connected to Christian ideals.

I don't. But then..people see what they want to see. The influences that stand out to me the most in the books is Rowling's personal experiences with candy shops.

feral · Jul 9, 2009

I'm a big fan of Harry Potter and have been for a very long time. I respect Daniel Radcliffe for "coming out" atheist and I agree with him about Richard Dawkins - I watch anything he does, too. But it doesn't affect whether or not I'd see the new HP movie. I'd see it if he had announced he was a fundamentalist Christian. The actors themselves are not my main focus in deciding about HP. It's the plot and the characters. But kudos for his honesty, anyway...not that I'd have expected to hear him admit to hardcore Christianity after the nude horse things in "Equus".

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