Harry Potter and 'The Sacred Text' on Tour

[CajunCrimson]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ng-in-magical-fiction/?utm_term=.f9e235afd2a1

Mark Kennedy grew up a Catholic, and a Harry Potter fanatic. Only one stuck.

“I considered myself a non-spiritual person,” he said. He thought he was done with religion. And then he stumbled on the podcast “Harry Potter and the Sacred Text.”

The podcast told him that the Harry Potter series — the books that he always turned to for solace when he was angry or stressed or in need of an escape — could be a source of spiritual sustenance.

“I feel like I’m born again,” he said.

On Tuesday night, Kennedy came to an event space at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in the District with hundreds of fellow fans of the podcast, who have found a surprising spirituality in the magical fiction series, which turns 20 years old this year.

Hosted by Harvard Divinity School graduates Casper ter Kuile and Vanessa Zoltan, the podcast “Harry Potter and the Sacred Text” became the number-two podcast in America on iTunes soon after it debuted last summer. It has inspired face-to-face Potter text reading groups, akin to Bible study more than book club, in cities across the country. In Harvard Square, ter Kuile and Zoltan host a weekly church-like service for the secular focused on a Potter text’s meaning.

 

[Jon]

just shows me that a certain percent of the population absolutely needs to find meaning regardless of where. I doubt the Harry Potter books will lead anyone to bomb an abortion clinic or fly a plane into a skyscraper so I'll chuckle at the absurdity and move on

 

[AV8N]

I'm just gonna wait for the conflict between the Jedi (a recognized religion in the U.K.) and the Harry Potter wizards to inevitably erupt.