Why were there no Gods in Harry potter?

Question

In almost all sagas we find Gods: e.g. in LOTR, Gods were mentioned, like Valar etc. But in Harry Potter, Voldemort was referred to as the Dark Lord (but he was just a normal wizard who chose the Dark and became extremely powerful); the tale was set in the 20th century and the oldest people mentioned were the four wizards after whom the houses in Hogwarts were named (Hogwarts was established in 990 AD).

Why were there no Wizard Gods or anyone whom Voldemort worshipped? At least in the movies no such things are mentioned.

While its probably too little to put it as an answer, I'd say its a standard taken from fantasy, where there is a distinction between mage magic (coming from "arcane science") and religious magic (coming from various gods). Usually those things don't mix. — Yasskier, Oct 23 '15 at 06:19
@sumelic what I was trying to say is that I don't see a reason why any wizard (in HP or any other book in general) would need to pray for a magic, since there is a rules of science behind it. Its bit like if scientist was trying to pray to god of physics (OK, they are situation when a mage can get in contract with a deity for power but its on different level than matter of simple faith and its completely non related to HP) — Yasskier, Oct 23 '15 at 06:26
Voldemort just worshipped himself and maybe some of his ancestors. Maybe. — Don_Biglia, Oct 23 '15 at 06:53
This question, (and especially your comment to @Yasskiers answer) seem to boil down to "I like Gods and mystic stuff, why doesn't that book conform to this". You might as well ask why it doesn't have (more) sexy vampires, since people find them exciting. — DavidS, Oct 23 '15 at 08:26
@DavidS No it is not that I wanted Gods in the movie, but I felt the need for it. Usually when one span a saga over 7 years and going back upto old times, some religion, cult, or god must be shown as it is in nature of any living being to make gods for themselves. — Bhaskar Vashishth, Oct 23 '15 at 08:37
@BhaskarVashishth Hold on, I think you need to clarify - are you asking why there are no REAL god's in HP, or asking why there doesn't seem to be any magic-based religion (whether or not the god exists)? — DavidS, Oct 23 '15 at 09:35
There is a God in HP. Or not. There are Gods. Or not. Depending on your own belief, whether or not a mystical entity or pantheon exists, that very same exists in HP as well. Magic is an inherent genetic ability. Not a gift from some specific deity (unless you believe the gift of being good at Math or being able to play the piano is god-given). All wizards and witches have the potential, training makes them better, like any other ability all humans have. Ancient wizards probably would have believed they were annointed by (their) God(s), modern ones probably less so, same as us muggles. — BMWurm, Oct 23 '15 at 10:42
@BhaskarVashishth it is most certainly not "the nature of every living being to make gods for themselves"! As far as we know, only humans are susceptible to that particular obsession and, luckily, not all humans either. — terdon, Oct 23 '15 at 11:48
I don't think there are any "Gods" in star wars either, unless you consider "The Force" as one, nor Star Trek, etc. and even in the LOTR, the "Gods" aren't really there or explained much in the books or movies, really only in the silmarillion — user2813274, Oct 23 '15 at 12:28
er, the Valar are not gods (they are angels at best). The God would be Eru and I cannot remember if there is even a mention of Eru in LotR; even the Ainur are hardly mentioned in it (as objects of worship) — falsedot, Oct 23 '15 at 14:12
@falsedot only if you choose to interpret it through the lense of judeo-christian, monotheistic theology. For most belief systems both Eru and the Valar would be gods. — terdon, Oct 23 '15 at 14:42
@falsedot If this answer from the SF&F SE is to be believed, Tolkien did imagine the Valar as Gods, and referred to them as such in his early Silmarillion material. — Slade, Oct 23 '15 at 14:45

Royal Canadian Bandit · Answer 1 · 2015-10-23T09:59:35.497

JK Rowling was writing stories set in the real world, only with magic. Our world already has religions, and she saw no need to invent more. In addition, her concept of magic was secular; magic is effectively a form of science, it does not depend on active intervention by a god or gods. She has said that Wicca does not appear in the books for this reason:

Responding to questions as to why Wicca, a modern pagan religion that also uses the words “witch” and “wizard” to describe its members, was not represented at Hogwarts, Rowling said: “It's a different concept of magic to the one laid out in the books, so I don't really see how they can co-exist.”

Rowling herself identifies as a Christian, and sees the books as exploring Christian themes of sacrifice and resurrection:

"To me, the religious parallels have always been obvious," Rowling said. "But I never wanted to talk too openly about it because I thought it might show people who just wanted the story where we were going."

At the end of her latest and final installment in the series, there are specific references to Christianity and themes of life after death and resurrection.

At one point Harry visits his parents' graves and finds two biblical passages inscribed on their tombstones. "They are very British books, so on a very practical note, Harry was going to find biblical quotations on tombstones," she said.

"But I think those two particular quotations he finds on the tombstones ...they sum up, they almost epitomise, the whole series."

Adding fictional religions would only distract from this element of her writing.

I have always wondered what Christmas was about in HP universe. Its the same as in muggle life! — Jesvin Jose, Oct 23 '15 at 14:39
Is there any canon source stating that magic is science? Because for me magic feels a lot like magic - especially the limitiation to special magic talented people (I am still bitter I did not get that letter). — SeaS, Nov 10 '17 at 12:32

score 17 · Answer 2 · edited Oct 23 '15 at 11:37

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Disclaimer: The answer below is almost purely speculative.

1. Out of universe:

Rowling had already enough problems with various religious fanatics calling her a "Satanist" (or "devil worshipper"), adding some sort of godlike (or even worse demon-like) beings would only add fuel to their fires.

2. In universe.

In the Harry Potter world magic is science, the same as physics or chemistry. Not sure about you, but I don't know about any scientist that prays to the god of Math before conducting an experiment (although I knew few students who were becoming suddenly VERY religious a few minutes before exam ;) ). In other words, wizards (especially modern ones) don't believe that there is some mystical force responsible for magic. Can they be religious in general? Sure, why not, if they believe that the Abrahamic (or any other) God created the world, He/She could also create magic. If any of the original founders of Hogwarts believed in some sort of god of magic (like Greek Hekate), such belief simply didn't last through the centuries.

And now look at Voldemort: this guy has a god complex - can you imagine him bending his knees to someone stronger than him? I don't think so. He wants to achieve his goals only using his own power, not something granted.

edited Oct 23 '15 at 11:37

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answered Oct 23 '15 at 06:41

Yasskier

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+1 especially for the out of universe explanation. The Harry Potter books mention Christmas but avoid Jesus. I expect JKR simply did not want that confrontation. And also, would other gods really add anything to the books, especially bearing in mind that it is meant to be set in our world? – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE Oct 23 '15 at 07:00
Its just when you look at LOTR or GOT, Gods makes things interesting and mystic. A saga like Harry potter should have had a positive god at least, I feel. "You-know-who" clearly did not need a lord, but even Sauron had master, so volde... oops, "you-know-who" could use a long lost master or idol too. I can easily imagine Miss Mcgonagall telling some interesting and mystic tales about wars in old times. I really liked the tale about how deathly hallows were created. A few more could have added more mystery and thrill. Thanks for the answer – Bhaskar Vashishth Oct 23 '15 at 08:04
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I don't think (1) applies. JKR was working in the UK, where these things are taken less seriously. It probably came as a surprise to JKR when certain Americans started calling her an agent of the devil. – Royal Canadian Bandit Oct 23 '15 at 09:42
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@RoyalCanadianBandit I'd say that this probably only seems true because there are less people in the UK! We have our share of crazies but just not as many so you don't hear them as much. I guess we're also less out spoken then our American counter parts, but no less judgemental! – Edward G-Jones Oct 23 '15 at 11:32
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"I don't know about any scientist that prays to the god of Math before conducting an experiment" No but there are scientists that work for the church to prove that there is a god. Some might think this is stupid and that they are probably no real scientists but they all went to high school, all went to college, all got some high degree in physics, biology or whatever and know their stuff very well. Just like all the other professional scientists that don't believe in a god. – Davlog Oct 23 '15 at 11:56
Now I want to ask what Christmas stands for in the Wizard world! – Jesvin Jose Oct 23 '15 at 14:10
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@aitchnyu: the short answer is that Christmas is a secular holiday as much as a religious one in a substantial part of the western world, including, if I remember rightly, the UK. I don't suppose the US is unique in thinking of it solely as a religious holiday, but I don't think it is in the majority. (As a historical note, it was a secular (or pagan) holiday first, quite a long time before it was adopted by Christianity.) For a longer answer, I believe there's an existing question on that subject. – Harry Johnston Oct 23 '15 at 20:59

score 16 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

There are no invented religions in Harry Potter because that would make it a different kind of story. It's not high/epic fantasy like Lord of the Rings, set in an imaginary medieval-style world. It's set in a very real 20th-century world, just in a fictional esoteric subsociety within this real world. Because of this, the only religions mentioned or alluded to are those which exist in the real world.

Yes, there are references to religion in the Harry Potter books, albeit very few. The practise of appointing godparents is a Christian one, for one thing: so Sirius, Harry, James, Lily, Lupin, and Tonks were probably all at least culturally Christian. The quotes on the Potters' and Dumbledores' tombstones in Godric's Hollow are Biblical ones, confirming the Christian connection:

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21)

"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:26)

The graveyard was a church one, which is even more evidence that the people buried there were Christians.

As for other religions, Anthony Goldstein has been confirmed to be Jewish, and Rowling has said she could imagine people of any and all religions being wizards and studying at Hogwarts - except Wiccans.

There are also a few references to God in the books, but these could be merely cultural and not reflect any religious adherence; many non-religious people say things like "thank God":

"Bill! Thank God, thank God –"
_{-- Molly Weasley, HP and the Deathly Hallows}

"So that's little Scorpius. Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."
_{-- Ron Weasley, HP and the Deathly Hallows}

Why were there no Gods in Harry potter?

3 Answers3

1. Out of universe:

2. In universe.