Religion in Potter | Common Room

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As you know, on Common Room, we are religiously and politically neutral. We’ll never post happy holidays for any holiday or support a political candidate as a site/podcast. So, when I asked friends and strangers to be on the show for #Potterweek and got a request to talk about religious allusions, I was a bit nervous.

Stefani, a friend who I met through work suggested this for a reason that was pretty interesting. As you’ll hear on the episode, her parents were very strict, especially regarding their Christianity. So Stefani and her siblings were not allowed to have Harry Potter in the home. Later after we recorded this episode and the Pokemon Go craze started, Stefani shared that her parents also didn’t allow Pokemon in the house. The reason? It is a form of idolatry.

I want to make it clear that I am not judging this at all. As many listeners and readers know, I am a religious person that follows many rules that may seem illogical, sheepish, and stupid. The angle we discussed here interested me because we’ve heard about “those people” who banned Potter, burned it, and spoke about how it leads children to the occult.

Stefani has a personal connection that she generously shared. We moved on to talk about bigger Harry Potter themes, favorites, and even took some time to do some sorting and discuss those large introspective questions.

Enjoy this last episode of Potterweek on what I’m calling Potterday. Happy First Day of Hogwarts!!

Check out Stefani- nowhere! She hates the internet! And check out James on social media as thejacksonjd!