#infant baptism

[buggie-hagen]

If the validity of Baptism depends on the quality of our faith, then we would all be in great trouble. As Christians we know our faith is not a constant "truth" like a mathematical formula. Two plus two will always equal four. But faith does not work that way. It often wavers, trembles, and doubts. Luther understood this himself. He even likened the fragility of faith to "butter in the sunshine." He often said that the devil is especially busy tempting people of faith because he knows such folk threaten his power as God's chief opponent on earth. So they are special targets of his attacks. As a consequence, faith needs an anchor, or something to which it can cling when it is under assault. And that anchor is Baptism, the most precious "jewel in body and soul." ~Mark D. Tranvik, "Infant Baptism and Saving Faith" in Luther's Large Catechism with Annotations and Contemporary Applications, 624.

[snapewife-divorce-lawyer]

[tomicscomics]

05/10/2024

The widdle baybeee!

___

JOKE-OGRAPHY: 1. This cartoon is based on a story from the 6th session of St. Joan's trial. Before I explain it, here's the original segment, translated by W. S. Scott: "Asked what was the age of the child at Lagny that she went to see, she replied: The baby was three days old. And it was brought to Lagny to Notre Dame. And she was told that the maidens of the town were before [the statue of] Our Lady; and that she might like to go and pray to God and Our Lady that it might live. And she went there and prayed to God with the others. And finally life appeared in it, and it yawned three times; then it was baptised and immediately after died, and was buried in consecrated ground. For three days, they said, no life had appeared in the child; and it was as black as her tunic. But when it yawned, the colour began to come back. And she was with the maidens on her knees in front of [the statue of] Our Lady, offering prayers. Asked if it were not said by the town that she had brought this about, and that it was by her intercession, she replied: I never inquired." 2. To summarize, Joan was in a town called Lagny, where a stillborn child was placed before a statue of Mary in hopes of a miraculous revival. Joan is asked to pray over him with the other young women of the town, and when they finish, the baby is temporarily revived and quickly baptized before dying again. 3. Medieval Catholics believed baptism was essential for salvation, and that anyone who died without it could not get into heaven. Losing a child would've been bad enough without believing their soul was lost too, so although this baby's return to life was only temporary, his quick baptism would have meant the world to his family and community. For those who are curious, the Church still believes that baptism is necessary for salvation, but they also teach that God can offer its graces Himself, without the need for formal ceremony. The sacraments are bound to God, but He is not bound by His sacraments. 4. Though it's not explicitly stated in this part of the manuscript, one of the narratives being pushed by the judges during the trial was that Joan was always out to glorify herself, not God. They ask her if the people of Lagny credited her for the miracle, but in this cartoon, I expand that question a bit to get at what they were really trying to say. 5. For more background on this story, here's one of the sites I referenced: https://www.online-literature.com/anatole-france/joan-of-arc/25/

[charlemane]

as excited as i am to work on projects other than the ski masks, i must admit i'm going to miss their supreme portability... is this why so many people get so into knitting socks

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

José Arpa Perea (Spanish, 1858-1952) Baptizmo del Infante Don Juan en Sevilla, 1893

[nostalgia-tblr]

okay reading about the reformation it seems everyone thinks the anabaptists are heretical but the "baptism only counts if you choose to do it" idea seems... quite reasonable to me?

[idontliketomatoesleavemealone]

Time to think abt babies

[walterdecourceys]

i know i have a lot of strong and stupid opinions on theological topics but the baptism debate is so silly to me. who cares at what age you choose to immerse yourself in water as long as you understand the significance of the act and what it represents to you

[francesderwent]

it’s not that we don’t bother to baptize the unborn because they’re not persons, we don’t baptize them because we can’t get at them to baptize them!! as Catholics we have strict “matter and form” for sacraments, gestures and words that are the given vehicle for God’s grace. having those things set in stone keeps us from going buckwild and doing stuff, aesthetically and ritually, that’s not in accord with the dignity of what’s happening. and part of the matter of baptism is the anointing with water. this is a necessary part of the sacrament, and since we can’t in the normal order of things get into the mother’s womb to sprinkle an unborn baby with water, we wait until they’re born to baptize them.

however—you know how sometimes modern medicine can detect a birth defect while the baby is in the womb, and then doctors go in and do a partial C-section, do surgery on the baby, and then put them back in the womb to finish developing? hypothetically, you could totally baptize the baby in that brief period where they’re being operated on outside of the womb.

I don't know whom I should ask about this, so I'll just post it and trust that God will give me the right answer at the right time.

Catholics and Lutherans hold that people have to be born before they can be baptized, right? You can't baptize somebody in the womb, and you can't baptize them in the birth canal. They have to be fully born first. This seems to imply that human life begins at birth.

How does this fit together with the pro-life position that human life begins at conception?

[chapel-roach]

i love baptisms. there was one for a baby today during service and it was so sweet and the baby was so so cute. he tried his best to stick his little fingers in the pastor's mouth while she spoke and gave a blessing, i don't know how she didn't start laughing. i did. his big (but still little) brother did, out loud, which was even cuter and funnier

[theloverstomb]

‘Fragile Microbiomes’ by bio-artist Anna Dumitriu

1. SYPHILIS DRESS- This dress is embroidered with images of the corkscrew-shaped bacterium which causes the sexually transmitted disease syphilis. These embroideries are impregnated with the sterilised DNA of the Nichols strain of the bacterium - Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum - which Dumitriu extracted with her collaborators.

2. MICROBE MOUTH- The tooth at the centre of this necklace was grown in the lab using an extremophile bacterium which is part of the species called Serratia (Serratia N14) that can produce hydroxyapatite, the same substance that tooth enamel is made from.

The handmade porcelain teeth that make up this necklace have been coated with glazes derived from various bacterial species that live in our mouths and cause tooth decay and gum disease, including Porphyromonas gingivalis, which can introduce an iron-containing light brown stain to the glaze.

3. TEETH MARKS: THE MOST PROFOUND MYSTERY- In his 1845 essay “On Artificial Teeth”, W.H. Mortimer described false teeth as “the most profound mystery” because they were never discussed. Instead, people would hide the stigma of bad teeth and foul breath using fans.

This altered antique fan is made from animal bone and has been mended with gold wire, both materials historically used to construct false teeth (which would also sometimes incorporate human teeth). The silk of the fan and ribbon has been grown and patterned with two species of oral pathogens: Prevotella intermedia and Porphyromonas gingivalis. These bacteria cause gum disease and bad breath, and the latter has also recently been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

4. PLAGUE DRESS- This 1665-style 'Plague Dress' is made from raw silk, hand-dyed with walnut husks in reference to the famous herbalist of the era Nicholas Culpeper, who recommended walnuts as a treatment for plague. It has been appliquéd with original 17th-century embroideries, impregnated with the DNA of Yersinia pestis bacteria (plague). The artist extracted this from killed bacteria in the laboratory of the National Collection of Type Cultures at the UK Health Security Agency.

The dress is stuffed and surrounded by lavender, which people carried during the Great Plague of London to cover the stench of infection and to prevent the disease, which was believed to be caused by 'bad air' or 'miasmas'. The silk of the dress references the Silk Road, a key vector for the spread of plague.

5. BACTERIAL BAPTISM- based on a vintage christening gown which has been altered by the artist to tell the story of research into how the microbiomes of babies develop, with a focus on the bacterium Clostridioides difficile, originally discovered by Hall and O’Toole in 1935 and presented in their paper “Intestinal flora in new-born infants”. It was named Bacillus difficilis because it was difficult to grow, and in the 1970s it was recognised as causing conditions from mild antibiotic-associated diarrhoea to life-threatening intestinal inflammation. The embroidery silk is dyed using stains used in the study of the gut microbiome and the gown is decorated with hand-crocheted linen lace grown in lab with (sterilised) C. difficile biofilms. The piece also considers how new-borns become colonised by bacteria during birth in what has been described as ‘bacterial baptism’.

6. ZENEXTON- Around 1570, Swiss physician and alchemist Theophrastus Paracelsus coined the term ‘Zenexton’, meaning an amulet worn around the neck to protect from the plague. Until then, amulets had a more general purpose of warding off (unspecified) disease, rather like the difference today between ‘broad spectrum’ antibiotics and antibiotics informed by genomics approaches which target a specific organism.

Over the next century, several ideas were put forward as to what this amulet might contain: a paste made of powdered toads, sapphires that would turn black when they leeched the pestilence from the body, or menstrual blood. Bizarre improvements were later made: “of course, the toad should be finely powdered”; “the menstrual blood from a virgin”; “collected on a full moon”.

This very modern Zenexton has been 3D printed and offers the wearer something that genuinely protects: the recently developed vaccine against Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague.

[secretmellowblog]

Les Mis Hidden Name Meanings: "Fantine"

Every character's  name in Les Mis is either an elaborate pun or has some deeper symbolic thematic meaning — usually both at once. 

One example of this is “Fantine.” There’s a wealth of hidden meaning packed into to her name, and some of those meanings are explicitly discussed in the original novel. 

The name “Fantine” comes from the french word “enfantine,” meaning  “childike, infant-like.” Her name basically means “Baby.” And obviously this speaks to her innocence and naivety. But also “baby”  is kind of,.,, well, it sounds more like an informal term of endearment than an actual legal name?  

And that’s because– Plot twist– Fantine isn’t her legal name!

 What is her legal name? She doesn’t have one. 

And the reason she doesn’t have one is directly tied to political turmoil of the era she was born into. 

Fantine grew up an orphan living on the streets, without a family without parents. Hugo tells us the origin of her name: 

“She bore on her brow the sign of the anonymous and the unknown. (...)She was called Fantine. Why Fantine? She had never borne any other name. At the epoch of her birth the Directory still existed. She had no family name; she had no family; no baptismal name; the Church no longer existed. She bore the name which pleased the first random passer-by, who had encountered her, when a very small child, running bare-legged in the street. She received the name as she received the water from the clouds upon her brow when it rained. “

This moment is adapted beautifully in the Manga adaptation by Takahiro Arai: 

But now let’s talk about the Directory. 

To wildly oversimplifly a lot of complex history: Before the French Revolution, the Catholic Church’s records of baptismal ceremonies were often used as a  registry of people’s legal names. During the French Revolution, the Revolutionary government– including the Directory– put in place a series of policies we now call “dechristianization,” where they attempted to dismantle the power of the Catholic church. 

Fantine was born during the age of these dechristianization policies. So she was likely never baptised, her baptismal name was never recorded, and so she has no documented legal or family name. She’s slipped through the cracks of the legal system, and ended up completely anonymous.

This sets Fantine up as this anonymous child of the Revolution– a stand-in for everyone who was left behind when the Revolution was left behind, and kings were restored to the throne. 

Fantine’s namelessness is meant to show her isolation. She has NO support system. She has nothing to connect her to other people, nothing to connect her to a support system. 

Finally, the way Fantine tends to “slip through the cracks” is something that follows her throughout her life.  When she’s fired from her job at a factory, Mayor Madeleine never learns  of it– Fantine has this tendency to be overlooked and forgotten in official records.  At the end of the story, she is buried in an unmarked grave, with not even the name “Fantine” on her headstone. She is born anonymous and she dies anonymous.

It ties into the novel’s questions about  which people we consider worth remembering, whose lives are worth being recorded. 

[Thank you for reading! This essay was originally posted as a video here. For more Les Mis talk, you should subscribe to the 2025 @lesmisletters readalong on Substack here, and join the BrickClub Discord server here!]

[whetstonefires]

you know i just reblogged this because it had a fun vibe and the general point about people no-true-scotsmanning their way around Christian bullshit to not take responsibility for their coreligionists is sound, but one of my followers commented on it and i was like, i actually don't think that basic statement is particularly watertight?

A pretty mainstream translation of the nicene creed runs:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. AMEN.

There's a mention of sin in the affirmation of baptism as a practice at the end there, but there's not really space in there to define it because the Nicene creed is about the nature of the trinary god and how denying the official reading of that specific divine mystery makes you a heretic.

So I vibe with op but admittedly am not sure what they were actually thinking wrt: standard definitions of sin.

"There is no one Christian concept of sin" is a wild concept. Like no, there is, it's in the Nicene Creed and it's certainly your right to reject the Nicene Creed but doing so more or less means by definition you're so far outside of the Christian mainstream that experts consider your religion something else

[marianadecarlos]

The Birth of Philip Prospero Fanart

Philip Prospero was born on November 28, 1657, in the Royal Alcazar of Madrid. He was the first son of Philip IV of Spain and Mariana of Austria. His birth brought joy to the kingdom, but his delivery caused his mother to have childbed fever, which most did not notice because of their joy. Queen Mariana was bedridden for days after the birth and she survived.

On the day of the birth, not a bench nor a table was left unbroken in the palace, nor a single pastry-cook’s nor tavern that was not sacked. Tomorrow [December 6] they say that his Majesty will go on horseback to the Atocha to give thanks to the Mother of God… They say the prince is a pretty little chap, and that the King wishes him to be baptized at once, before the extreme cold comes on… There are to be masquerades, bull-fights and cane-tourneys as soon as the Queen stands up to see them, as well as plays with machinery invented by an engineer, a servant of the Nuncio, to be represented at the theatre of Retiro, and the saloon of the palace… The municipality, following the lead of the Councils, have gone to congratulate the King… and no gentleman, great or small, has failed to do the like.

His baptism was described to have some mishaps, starting with the Ceremonial Napkin carried by Condestable de Castilla, an unpopular military officer, He made a scene at Prospero's baptism in the following matter:

It seems that the crush of the people was so great that a staircase gave way; this disarranged the procession as it left the chapel, and in particular prevented the Duque de Bejar from taking his place and bearing away the "mazapan". The "mazapan" was not a sweet meat, but a lump of breadcrumb on which the officiating ecclesiastic wiped his fingers after anointing the child with holy oil. The bread was enclosed in a highly decorated reptacle made of marzipan and carried on a richly worked piece of needlework. It seems to be a object which evoked singular curiosity through little relevance. As the Duque de Bejar was unable to be its barrier, Philip was asked what should be done, he was told master of ceremonies to ask the Condestable De Castilla to substitute, This gentleman replied that he was sorry but he had an injured arm. Philip IV, furious, repeated his order, whereupon he replied, "The Condestable De Castilla are too exalted to fill the gaps and voids left by others. The Duque de Alburquerque carried the ewer, the Duque of Terranova, the salt sellar. Last came the Duque of Pastrana carrying on this occasion the famous mazapan. It was made in the shape of a castle with gold and silver ornamentation. The chrism is a mixture of oil and balm used to anoint the infant. Owing to its Sacrosanct Character, It was those days covered much coveted by ill-intentioned persons; hence the drops of chrism deposited on the bread crumb with the Mazapan might be stolen. The infant was naked at this baptism, At the baptism, the infant was unclothed, prompting the Infanta Maria Theresa to ask why she had to present her brother in this manner. It was explained that this tradition was a way to demonstrate his gender.

Source:

Carlos, A king who would not die by John Langdon Davis

[malegains]

Pretty soon he was surrounded on all sides by dozens of men, mindlessly thrusting their hips at him as if compelled by some base power, their hands frantically groping the acres of his muscular flesh, their mouths suckling on any round protrusion they could find, like greedy infants, except his muscles were far larger than any breasts, hard as steel, radiating a scalding heat, the skin torturously stretched. Every few moments a fresh splash of baptismal cum, disappearing as he absorbed it through that same thin skin, his muscles throbbing, pulsing, enlarging with each tribute of semen he received.

There was a long night ahead of him still.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Comprehensive Religion in the Wizarding World Post

I talked before about how I think wizards in the UK are mostly Christians of varying denominations (here and here) and how they likely have their own Anglican magical church with their own saints. What I want to do in this post is outline all the evidence from the books I gathered regarding their Christianity and their traditions to get an idea of what religion is to the average wizard in the UK. (Obviously, I expect there are differences between Ireland, North Ireland, Scotland, and different areas of England as irl different locations practice different Christian denominations. Likewise, minority religions exist as they do irl, like Anthony Goldstein who is most likely Jewish).

Some canonically Christian characters:

We know McGonagall is a Scottish Presbyterian:

Minerva McGonagall was the first child, and only daughter, of a Scottish Presbyterian minister and a Hogwarts-educated witch. She grew up in the Highlands of Scotland, and only gradually became aware that there was something strange, both about her own abilities, and her parents’ marriage.

(From Pottermore)

And we similarly see that throughout history we had other British or Irish Christian wizards in the books:

Like the Fat Friar, who is, as his name suggests — a friar, and ghost nuns Harry mentions:

They passed a group of gloomy nuns, a ragged man wearing chains, and the Fat Friar, a cheerful Hufflepuff ghost, who was talking to a knight with an arrow sticking out of his forehead

(CoS)

Traditions:

But I want more evidence regarding the main characters, about whether Harry is Christian for example. The answer to that is a resounding yes.

I already mentioned in a past post how they celebrate Christmas and how their ceremonies for weddings and funerals look like a Christian ceremony with some added magical flare, but I wanted to look at other traditions:

Holidays:

They sing Christmas carols:

Everybody else spent the following morning putting up Christmas decorations. Harry could not remember Sirius ever being in such a good mood; he was actually singing carols, apparently delighted that he was to have company over Christmas.

(OotP)

One of which actually mentions god, being: "God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs".

They give gifts on Christmas, have Christmas trees, etc.

It's also made clear pureblood wizards celebrate Christmas at home:

“I do feel so sorry,” said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, “for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they’re not wanted at home.”

(PS)

Additionally, the spring break at Hogwarts is referred to as an Easter Holidays:

“Ah, you’re worrying about the reaction of your aunt and uncle?” said Fudge. “Well, I won’t deny that they are extremely angry, Harry, but they are prepared to take you back next summer as long as you stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays.”

(PoA)

And we know they celebrate Easter as Mrs. Weasley sends them Easter chocolate eggs:

Percy’s letter was enclosed in a package of Easter eggs that Mrs. Weasley had sent. Both Harry’s and Ron’s were the size of dragon eggs and full of homemade toffee. Hermione’s, however, was smaller than a chicken egg. Her face fell when she saw it.

(GoF)

Use terms like god and hell:

And as I mentioned in the past, pureblood wizards often mention god and hell, even purebloods like Draco.

“God, this place is going to the dogs,” said Malfoy loudly.

(PoA)

Or Amos Diggory:

“Made one hell of a noise and fired rubbish everywhere, as far as I can tell,” said Mr. Diggory.

(GoF)

Godparents and Infant Baptisms:

As I mentioned in the past, godparents seem to have a legal status in the wizarding world:

“Yes . . . ,” said Black. “But I’m also — I don’t know if anyone ever told you — I’m your godfather.” “Yeah, I knew that,” said Harry. “Well . . . your parents appointed me your guardian,” said Black stiffly. “If anything happened to them . . .”

(PoA)

Sirius seems to explain to Harry that being a godparent in the wizarding world means more, and that he is his legal guardian as well after Harry doesn't understand it on his own. At least this is how I always read it.

Now, godparents are witnesses to a child's baptism, which is a common wizarding occasion in the UK, at least:

By and large, wizard clothing has remained outside of fashion, although small alterations have been made to such garments as dress robes. Standard wizard clothing comprises plain robes, worn with or without the traditional pointed hat, and will always be worn on such formal occasions as christenings, weddings and funerals. Women’s dresses tend to be long. Wizard clothing might be said to be frozen in time, harking back to the seventeenth century, when they went into hiding. Their nostalgic adherence to this old-fashioned form of dress may be seen as a clinging to old ways and old times; a matter of cultural pride.

(from Pottermore)

In an interview, JKR actually mentioned Harry's own christening:

Does Harry have a godmother? If so, will she make an appearance in future books? No, he doesn’t. I have thought this through. If Sirius had married… Sirius was too busy being a big rebel to get married. When Harry was born, it was at the very height of Voldemort fever last time so his christening was a very hurried, quiet affair with just Sirius, just the best friend. At that point it looked as if the Potters would have to go into hiding so obviously they could not do the big christening thing and invite lots of people. Sirius is the only one, unfortunately. I have got to be careful what I say there, haven’t I?

(Interview with JKR)

Yes, she mentions needing to be careful because she doesn't remember what she wrote oftentimes, but the intention is that Harry is Christian and was baptized as a baby with Sirius as his witness as his godfather.

Weddings:

Wizards have wedding rings:

“Harry, guess what?” said Tonks from her perch on top of the washing machine, and she wiggled her left hand at him; a ring glittered there. “You got married?” Harry yelped, looking from her to Lupin. “I’m sorry you couldn’t be there, Harry, it was very quiet.”

(DH)

Their weddings are preceded by a priest and they have the classic "I dos" in their weddings:

A great collective sigh issued from the assembled witches and wizards as Monsieur Delacour and Fleur came walking up the aisle, Fleur gliding, Monsieur Delacour bouncing and beaming. Fleur was wearing a very simple white dresses and seemed to be emitting a strong, silvery glow. [...] “Do you, William Arthur, take Fleur Isabelle. . . . ?”

(DH)

They have bridesmaids, a best man, the bride is wearing a white dress, and the bride is walked down the aisle by her father — all very familiar traditions from Christian weddings.

Funerals and Burieals:

The funerals are proceeded by the very same priest wizard who proceeded Bill and Fleur's wedding:

A little tufty-haired man in plain black robes had got to his feet and stood now in front of Dumbledore’s body. Harry could not hear what he was saying. Odd words floated back to them over the hundreds of heads. “Nobility of spirit” . . . “intellectual contribution” . . . “greatness of heart” . . . It did not mean very much.

(HBP)

Both James & Lily's and Kendra & Ariana's graves had bible quotes on them, again outright stating wizards in the UK are predominantly Christian and not pagan or wiccan like some fans like to believe:

She pointed to the dark stone. Harry stooped down and saw, upon the frozen lichen-spotted granite, the words KENDRA DUMBLEDORE and, a short way below her dates of birth and death, AND HER DAUGHTER ARIANA. There was also a quotation: Where you treasure is, there will your heart be also.

(DH) Quote from Matthew 6:21.

The headstone was only two rooms behind Kendra and Ariana’s. It was made of white marble, just like Dumbledore’s tomb, and this made it easy to read, as it seemed to shine in the dark. Harry did not need to kneel or even approach very close to it to make out the words engraved upon it. JAMES POTTER LILY POTTER BORN 27 MARCH 1960 BORN 30 JANUARY 1960 DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981 DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

(DH) Quote from 1 Corinthians 15:26

Both these graves along with the graves of many other wizards (like Ignotus Peverell) are located in the graveyard behind the Christian Church in Godric's Hallow:

There was a kissing gate at the entrance to the graveyard. Hermione pushed it open as quietly as possible and they edged through it. On either side of the slippery path to the church doors, the snow lay deep and untouched. They moved off through the snow, carving deep trenches behind them as they walked around the building, keeping to the shadows beneath the brilliant windows. Behind the church row upon row of snowy tombstones protruded from a blanket of pale blue that was flecked with dazzling red, gold, and green wherever the reflections from the stained glass hit the snow. Keeping his hand closed tightly on the wand in his jacket pocket. Harry moved toward the nearest grave. “Look at this, it’s an Abbott, could be some long-lost relation of Hannah’s!” “Keep your voice down.” Hermione begged him.

(DH)

Non-Christians won't be buried in a Christian graveyard behind the church.

When Harry buries Mad-Eye's eye he draws a cross to mark his grave:

Early next morning, before the other two were awake, Harry left the tent to search the woods around them for the oldest, most gnarled, and resilient—looking tree he could find. There in its shadow he buried Mad-Eye Moody’s eye and marked the spot by gouging a small cross in the bark with his wand.

(DH)

Saints:

As I mentioned in the past, they have unique magical saints like:

Saint Catchpole - of Ottery St Catchpole.

Saint Mungo Bonham - of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Additionally, Hedwig, an historical witch Harry named his owl after:

He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in A History of Magic.

(PS)

Is very possibly a real canon Saint Hedwig or another magical saint of the same name.

Conclusions:

With all of this clear evidence that the characters in the series and the British wizarding world as a whole are predominantly Christian, including the blood supremacists purebloods, I don't really understand some fans' insistence on portraying them as pagan or wiccan or anti-curch. I mean, they don't seem to be regular church-goers and most are probably Anglican/another variant of Protestant which means they aren't under the Vatican and the pope, but they are still clearly Christian.

Like, I'd understand it if it was treated as fanon, but too often I seem to see wizards being non-Christian mentioned in canon-adjacent meta or when talking about canon and that's just not the case and it kinda annoys me. Especially when the Christianization of the wizarding world is blamed on muggleborns as an excuse for blood purity. Blood purity does not have a just reason behind it and the British wizarding world was Christian for centuries. Probably since Britain was Christian. and I'm sure their religion was affected by the reformation and such, but they were Christian before the Statute of Secrecy and after it, and it has nothing to do with muggleborns. Muggleborns aren't erasing wizarding traditions, changing wizard religion, or replacing purebloods in the workforce — it just doesn't have any evidence for it in the books. Blood supremacy, like irl bigotry and hate, has no good reason behind it.

Hell, I don't really care what their religion is and if they were pagan I would've written about it plenty, but they aren't pagan and it annoys me that this section of canon is ignored sometimes because I feel it's an integral part of the wizarding world we see in the books. Especially when it is ignored for the sake of giving blood purists an excuse for their anti-muggleborn beliefs.

Sorry for the half-rant at the end, but this is something I see plenty in fanon, and like, fine, that's fanon, do whatever, write whatever, headcanon whatever, I'm not a cop, I don't care, but recently I saw it talked about in supposedly canon meta, and that really annoyed me.