(Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)Mark Kennedy grew up a Catholic, and a Harry Potter fanatic. And then he stumbled on the podcast “Harry Potter and the Sacred Text.”The podcast told him that the Harry Potter series — the books that he always turned to for solace when he was angry or stressed or in need of an escape — could be a source of spiritual sustenance. Hosted by Harvard Divinity School graduates Casper ter Kuile and Vanessa Zoltan, the podcast “Harry Potter and the Sacred Text” became the number-two podcast in America on iTunes soon after it debuted last summer. It has inspired face-to-face Potter text reading groups, akin to Bible study more than book club, in cities across the country. In Harvard Square, ter Kuile and Zoltan host a weekly church-like service for the secular focused on a Potter text’s meaning.

Source: Washington Post July 19, 2017 20:48 UTC