The spirituality of Harry Potter and the deathly hallows

The last Harry Potter book has many deep spiritual themes in it. I identified twelve.

I bought the book on the day it came out and have just seen the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part two. It is a well written good story and a fitting end to the series. I thought it better than the earlier books in the series with a good pace and plenty of action throughout. If you haven’t read it you are safe to read on – there are no plot spoilers here.

After I put the book down I was struck by how deeply spiritual the book is. There are almost Christian parallels and allusions in the plot. Here is is list of the twelve points on which I base my argument.

1. The whole Harry Potter plot revolves around self sacrifice. “Greater love hath no man than he who lays down his life for his friends.”
2. Love and friendship are valued more highly that material things.
3. All the characters are seen to be flawed in their human make up – even the heroes. This could be argued to be original sin. Even Dumbledore is not perfect.
4. Redemption is possible for anyone who loves or feels remorse. Without love or remorse there is no redemption.
5. Heroism is reluctant and great deeds are portrayed as being hard and unpleasant for those doing them.
6. Death, when it comes at the right time, should not be feared but welcomed as a friend.
7. Happiness and joy come from human relationships and such real experiences cannot be created by magic.
8. That which is truly worthwhile often comes after a long struggle and there will be many times when you will be tempted to give up.
9. Power brings with it great responsibility and those best equipped to deal with power are those who do not seek it.
10. Self understanding awakens people to life and its potential.
11. There is a belief in life after death – perhaps even a vision of heaven in a near death experience. It could almost be said there is resurrection in the book but that is a bit far fetched!
12. There is a long journey through a metaphorical desert in the Deathly Hallows where leadership is tested and the direction to travel is not clear. This parallels with the journey of Moses through the wilderness.

For these twelve reasons I see spiritual depth in this book, much more than in the previous books in the series. I have no doubt people will be doing Ph.D. research on ideas such as this in a few years time!

post script :   J K Rowley says that the two quotes from the bible found by Harry and Hermione on the gravestones in Godrics Hollow are crucial to understanding the whole book. They are  "Where your treasure is there your heart shall be also" and "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death".....

I originally wrote this is July 2007 for the Spectrum magazine.