Harry Potter Taught Religion at Yale

Harry Potter might be a wizard, but that does not mean he’s not a good Christian, according to a Yale prof.

Rev. Danielle Tumminio taught the controversial class on Harry Potter and religion at Yale and has now written “God and Harry Potter at Yale: Teaching Faith and Fantasy in an Ivy League Classroom” a book about what the Ivy Leaguers learned in her class, and more.

“It’s really important to have ways to teach theology that make people realize these are questions that are urgent questions. They are questions about what it means to live a good life and what it means to suffer and what suffering means,” Tumminio said.

So, she found a way to reach people through arguably the most popular character in fiction.

The 2003 Yale’s Divinity School and saw parallels in the books to Christian thought -- themes about how a good God and evil live side by side and characters who make sacrifices kept popping up. So, she decided to use the book as a vehicle to teach religion, and analyze whether sacrifices J.K. Rowling’s characters make are Christlike.

The class was a hit. Eighty students showed up and there were only 18 spots.

Students were outside the door, out the hallway and outside in the frigid cold in January, Tumminio said.

The class is not being offered next year at Yale. Instead, she will be teaching it in Massachusetts at Tufts.

But, you can save yourself thousands of dollars, and homework, by spending about $13 to get the book. http://www.amazon.com/God-Harry-Potter-Yale-Classroom/dp/0982963319
 

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