On Religion and Fandom

[wook77]

A post in which I ponder religion and fanfiction and life. Before you click the link, yes, the answer is 42.



With my recent writing habits, I've started thinking about religion and fanfiction and life and all that jazz. As some who've been around my journal for a while know, I've a unique relationship with religion. At one point in my life, I walked out of my Confirmation ceremony (yes, that makes me Catholic) and then, years later, was Confirmed while at University.

The disparity between Catholicism growing up and Catholicism with an Order (in this case, the Dominicans) was huge. I fell in love with their devotion to education and the community. In point of fact, I fell so far in love with the Dominican faith that I started to study to be a nun. Once I realized that I couldn't subjugate "self" for God, I left the Convent and became a Lay Person in the church.

When I'm nervous or feeling sad or chipper or any sort of strong emotion, I've been known to burst out in liturgical songs. Christ has died, Christ has Risen, Christ will Rise again is one that I hum when I'm bored, as an example. I say the 'Hail Mary' before bed and when I'm in horrible traffic, it's easy to say the Apostle's Creed or the Our Father. I've rosaries hanging in my house though I'm not quite sure how to pray it anymore. It's been far too long since I've gone to Confession. I'm sure the conversation would go similar to - Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It's been years since my last Confession and I write gay porn about fictional characters. Sometimes, I write incestuous gay porn about fictional characters.

Religion soothes me and I've my own unique relationship with God. I like to think that He understands why I curse and swear like a sailor and He understands why I write porn. I don't know if He approves but, as a Catholic, I've got Confession and if he doesn't approve, I feel that He'd tell me and I'd repent and that would be that.

Recently, I've started adding bibs and bobs of religion into stories that I write. I do it where it's believable, where an absence of religion would, realistically speaking, stick out. An example is whenever I write Seamus Finnigan. To me, it's virtually impossible for a character from a fairly religious country to not have some sort of connection to a religion. Because I know Catholicism best, I choose to make him Catholic.

When I read a story featuring Seamus as a main character, a lack of mention of religion sticks out like a sore thumb. It's almost like the author won't consider that religion might actually exist or, more to the point, peacefully co-exist with magic.

Using Seamus as an example, his da is a Muggle and his mam is a Witch. There had to be some sort of meeting of the minds there. One (or both) had to compromise on their belief system to blend the two together. Whether that compromise was in ignoring the other's beliefs or it was a true meshing of the realms, I've enjoyed exploring so far. Somehow, I find it harder to believe that Seamus wouldn't be using "Catholic" curse words (phrases) such as 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph' than the existence of magic itself.

When I've posted stories dealing with religion, I've received comments to the effect that I'm "brave" or "edgy" for posting something dealing with religion. Is religion that much of a hot-button-topic?

When I say about realistically bringing up religion, I don't mean every character. Mostly, I'm talking about the characters that grow up Muggle. They had to have, at the least, read about wars based on religion (anyone else remember hearing about the 100 Years War for a gadzillion years in school?) or heard about the Middle East and all the various struggles there. Some characters would have more a religious base than others, surely. Padma and Parvati, for example, would believably have more of a relationship with religion than, say, Crabbe or Goyle. Seamus would believably have more of a relationship with religion than, say, Draco Malfoy.

Even Harry would have to have some sort of relationship with religion. With Vernon and Petunia being ever so conscious of the thoughts of their neighbors and appearing like good, pious and normal people, is it so hard to believe that they'd go to church on a Sunday, if just to keep up appearances? Why, then, is it so "brave" or "edgy" to mention that Harry was locked in the cupboard while the Dursleys made their way to church?

Basically, I just don't get why people are afraid to explore, to read and write and absorb, stories that deal with religion in the Wizarding World. It's a way of melding the Muggle and the Wizarding World together, possibly showing a struggle of conscience and conscious between what they know (magic doesn't exist and witchcraft is bad) to what they realize (magic does exist and hey, you can levitate a feather with it! Cool!).

Moving beyond the realm of Harry Potter, I've recently joined the Boondock Saints fandom - where the characters are overtly religious in canon. They have a specific prayer and they believe they're on a mission from God (no, it's not the same one as the Blues Brothers). Yet, when I read stories in that fandom, the word 'Catholic' barely ever appears in any of the hundreds of stories I've read. Actually, the only religious thing the authors continuously mention are the rosaries and those are used more as jewelry for the characters than actual religious implements. Why, in the name of God (yes, bad joke here), would you ignore such overt religious symbolism and devotion? I'm not talking about PWP stories but about long plotty stories where the religious ramifications of incest and homosexuality should be dealt with. It's not like the Catholic Church is all happyhappyjoyjoy about gays, let alone gay incestuous brothers.

When the stories (and I've only found one) do attempt to deal with Catholicism, you can tell (as a Catholic) that the author isn't Catholic and barely did any research other than what's in the movie or available on the wiki. Is it that hard to do a bit of research to find out the difference between Masses or how to pray the Rosary (ok, I'll give them that one having actually done it at some time in the past and not really remembering it now)? Really, the Church's opinion on gays and sex outside of marriage and women and the laity and loads of other issues are all out there for someone to utilize.

The last rant bit has more to do with my thirst for canon compliance than religion but… it also goes to show that a reluctance to touch on religion in a story is not just a Harry Potter phenomena. It's in multiple fandoms out there. Hell, in the Andromeda fandom, it's hard to find a fic that touches on what it means to be a Nietzschean and relate to the non-Nietzscheans. In Dead Like Me, it's hard to find stories that touch on the Reapers relationship with God other than a "woe-is-me-why-me" sort of way.

Perhaps it's because I do have a fairly strong relationship with religion that I notice the lack. Then again, perhaps I just have a religion!kink to go along with my foreign language!kink or my plot!kink or bdsm!kink. I'm not sure.

The only thing I'm sure of is that I'd like to see more of it.

Comments

[coffeejunkii.livejournal.com]

hhmm. i don't want to see more religion in hp fic unless it's appropriate for a character. for example, i've been reading a few snupin fics recently and in several of them [by the same author], remus and/or severus attend the church of england, to which my immediate gut reaction was "wtf?". to me, organized religion like the church of england is a thoroughly muggle institution that those raised in the wizarding world might not even be aware of [i mean, if wizards don't even know what electricity is...]. so the inclusion of that really threw me.

i think seamus is a good example of a character where i wouldn't be quite as suprised because ireland does strike me as a country that is still imprinted by catholicism fairly strongly, even if i also think many irish aren't religious at all. but they'd be familiar with catholicism, imo. i don't think i'd notice the absence of religion as a lack in a seamus-centric fic. i mean, what if seamus father wasn't religious at all? he might have no interest in introducing his son to religious traditions, esp. if he is fully integrated into the ww. i think for me it would be more of a question of whether or not seamus was exposed to muggle culture, not that his father is an irish muggle.

finally, i'm not sure that "proper=going to church on sunday" holds for the dursleys. that equation strikes me as rather american, but since i'm not from the uk, i shall withhold judgment. it doesn't hold in germany, though [except for small pockets of the country that are still very religious].

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

finally, i'm not sure that "proper=going to church on sunday" holds for the dursleys. that equation strikes me as rather american.

That was my reaction, too. If the Dursleys were American, particularly Americans living in the south or midwest, they would totally be the type to go to church just for show, because it's proper, etc. But I really don't think that same attitude holds true in English. There religion is much more a private thing, and whether you went to church or not wouldn't be considered anyone's business but your own. I'm not from the UK, either, but that has been my overwhelming impression from those who are.

[wook77.livejournal.com]

I've had a bit more of a mixed bag when it comes to knowing people but I'm sure that's human nature at work right there. I've friends that don't go to church and their family or their neighbors are harping on them to go. I've other friends that don't give a crap one way or the other if people go or not.

[quirkie.livejournal.com]

If the Dursleys were American, particularly Americans living in the south or midwest, they would totally be the type to go to church just for show, because it's proper, etc.

No. Kidding. I live in a little town in the midwest, and if your family doesn't go to church on Sunday, you're basically shunned. I don't know a whole lot of people who would still go, if it weren't expected.

(The Dursleys are totally those people.)

[wook77.livejournal.com]

That's basically my point... that where appropriate, I don't think that it's 'edgy' or 'brave' to bring up religion. I can actually see the Remus attending a church if the author believably sets him up as half-and-half or Muggleborn. (I don't think it's been confirmed that he's Pureblood, has it? *mental note to research*) I read a story where Mrs. Black was Catholic and that had me going BWA? simply because it wasn't believable in the set-up the author used. (add to it that said author had no clue about the Catholic faith and, well, it was painful)

It's more that there's a lack of the subtle religious identifiers as well, like the cursing. I've found that the "Jesus, Mary and Joseph" thing, for example, is said by practicing and non-practicing Catholics. They say it by routine not religion (if that makes sense).

For Seamus and the exposed to the Muggle world - his da's Muggle... he'd have to be at least partially exposed to the Muggle world if just to visit his da's family, yeah?

I'm very embarrassed that my American is showing *blushes*. Thanks for pointing that out with the church on Sundays thing... *blushes again*

[coffeejunkii.livejournal.com]

i think it might appear as "edgy" for an american reader because religion is such hotly contested topic in this country whereas in germany, for example, people might be religious but it's their private business. i don't think we know remus' ancestry. i've seen people write him both as half-and-half and as pureblood. if you find some more info, let me know!

yes, it does. i usually have harry say "god" in my fic whereas draco will say "merlin".

yeah, i suppose. unless his father didn't maintain the ties to his muggle family because it was too complicated to juggle two worlds.

you don't need to be embarassed! it's a very ingrained thing in american culture. i find it difficult to explain the status of religion where i grew up. i mean it was a fairly conservative environment and all the catholic kids i knew did the first communion thing and went to church groups for social activities, and yet those kids who went to church every sunday or who were overtly religious were laughed at and mocked. basically, being religious was extremely uncool and a totally nerdy thing to do. it's not something you wanted people to know about you. so in some way, religious traditions are part of culture, but they don't really have much substance.

[wook77.livejournal.com]

Definitely will do on the finding out about Remus thing :).

yeah, i suppose. unless his father didn't maintain the ties to his muggle family because it was too complicated to juggle two worlds.

That's another story I'd like to see, actually. An exploration into the necessary adaptation and compromise. What part of the juggling was too complicated? Was there strife between the families? What caused the strife that would be so great that someone would cut themselves off from everything they knew.

I have to agree to disagree that religious traditions don't have much substance. For example, I'll use Christmas. That is a religious tradition that carries substance regardless of whether someone acknowledges themselves as a Christian or not. It's tradition to purchase gifts for others during this time of period and that tradition has bled into other cultures because of the weight and substance of it (and the overt marketing which is an attempt to take advantage of the tradition).

[coffeejunkii.livejournal.com]

excellent, thank you!

yes, it would be interesting. i mean, it seems that hermione is nearly headed that way, from how i perceive canon. not that she wouldn't be in touch with her parents anymore, but she lives more in the ww than in the muggle world [that said, i also like fics where hermione is the one who introduces computers to the ministry etc].

oh, i guess substance was a bad word choice. i meant that christmas is celebrated without giving thought to the religious sides of the holiday--that's what i meant by lacking substance. you celebrate easter because bunnies are cute and it's fun to go easter egg hunting and you get chocolate and advent is nice because you light candles and so on. like you said, these are traditions, but by now they are largely divorced from their religious origins.

[tamerterra.livejournal.com]

*grin* Christian holidays are basically Christian only in name, now. They're *really* about Chocolate. ;)

[coffeejunkii.livejournal.com]

yes, exactly :).

also, hi tosh!

[godlessharlot.livejournal.com]

i usually have harry say "god" in my fic whereas draco will say "merlin".

Just butting in to say that Draco is actually one of the people who says 'God' in the books (I counted them once because all the 'Merlin's in fanfic were annoying me *g*); AFAIR Draco said it twice, Lupin once and... Fudge(?) once. Someting like that. Asolutely no one said 'Merlin', that's a completely fanon thing.

/butting in :)

[coffeejunkii.livejournal.com]

i went to ask msdaccxx, who's from ireland, about this and here's what she said: n a nutshell, Catholic religious practice is still commonplace, but religious belief isn't. For most people, it's more to do with tradition and social convention than any kind of active faith. So, people may go to a catholic school and do the usual religious rites of passage - baptism, first communion, confirmation etc - also get married in church and have a funeral service, but in no way is it indicative of belief or compliance with the doctrines of the church. People who are nominally catholic will cheerfully ignore church teaching on all sorts of things, especially sexual and reproductive morality, but will still go through the motions to get a church wedding (looks nice in the photos) or get the kids into a church school with a good reputation.

[wook77.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit confused here as I'm not quite sure which way you mean this. Does this mean that it's inconceivable to include religious "gives" in a story?

I agree with the "cheerfully ignoring church teachings" thing as I do that with their views on homosexuality.

[coffeejunkii.livejournal.com]

no, not really, just that i think it would be more an exception than the norm for seamus to actively incorporate religion into his everyday life [like praying, observing religious holidays as such and not just a convenient day off etc]. i said to msdaccxx that i feel in america, anything to do with religion is always a statement--it means something if you practise it and it means something when you don't. but in the places in europe i've lived in, it simply doesn't matter. if that makes sense...?

[tree_and_leaf]

I've rarely, if ever, heard a British (as opposed to Irish) Catholic say 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph' (or 'Mary Mother of God'!) when angry or upset. I think it's cultural as much as religious.

[tamerterra.livejournal.com]

i'm not sure that "proper=going to church on sunday" holds for the dursleys. that equation strikes me as rather american

*nod* I'm English, and (in town, at least - it might be different in large-area small-population parishes) the tendency seems to be more like: It's your own business, but a person obviously talking about it to people who don't go to his church, or unwanted evangelising, are big warning signs about that person's agenda.

YMMV, of course - I have a small sample size.

[coffeejunkii.livejournal.com]

ah, good to hear i wasn't totally off in my perception :).