Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe an atheist?

July 8, 4:04 PMPortland Humanist ExaminerMicha J. Stone

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Harry Potter

Is Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe an atheist? Yes. In an interview with Esquire magazine, Radcliffe risked the wrath of fans and box office prospects for the new Harry Potter film by declaring himself to be an atheist. The buzz around the new Harry Potter movie, 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince', is growing strong in anticipation of its US opening on July 15.

In a pronouncement that will anger and frighten the religious right, the 19-year-old Radcliffe said he did not believe in God. The Christian right has long been suspicions about Potter's supposed "anti-Christian" message. Radcliffe's admission will do nothing to ease the concerns of those religious zealots who fear the Harry Potter phenomenon.

About his religious belief, Radcliffe said:

"I'm an atheist, but I'm very relaxed about it. I don't preach my atheism, but I have a huge amount of respect for people like Richard Dawkins who do. Anything he does on television, I will watch."

Reluctant to talk religion in the past, after admitting his atheism Radcliffe remarked: "That's half of America that's not going to see the next Harry Potter film on the back of that comment."

JK Rowling's novels featuring the Harry Potter character played by Radcliffe in the movies continues to threaten and anger many Christians. Tales of the schoolboy wizard are taken very seriously by some Evangelical Christians. One of the largest Christian groups in the country, Focus on the Family, denounced the books as "witchcraft".

With not a little irony, the Church of England published a guide advising youth leaders to use Harry Potter to spread the Christian message, as the characters face "struggles and dilemmas that are familiar to us all".

Professor Richard Dawkins, a leader of the New Atheism movement and author of the best-selling book "The God Delusion", is no fan of Harry Potter. Tales of witchcraft, in so far as they invoke a notion of the supernatural, are "anti-scientific" and violates the naturalistic world view advocated by Dawkins and fellow atheists.

Indeed, no clear thinking atheist would subscribe to the magical world view of Harry Potter and co. Yet then again, no clear thinking atheist would advocate that the series of children's books be burned, banned or otherwise maligned. Such book burning and book banning activity is the sole domain of Christendom, where clear thinking is frowned upon, and silly superstition on par with the magical world of Harry Potter is confused with the truth.

Thank you, Daniel Radcliffe, for speaking the truth. It is time for atheists to come out of the closet and confront religious superstition and bigotry once and for all.

Be brave; be strong; be an atheist!