I was asked to conceptually explore what it might be like for people in each Hogwarts House to question or deal with having doubt in their faith, per the Sorting Hat Chats System. If you need a refresher on the particulars, you can revisit my posts talking about each Primary House. I’m going to make presumptions based on what I know of each House, and assume it’s semi-accurate, but if that’s not how you would deal with doubt or a loss of faith, it doesn’t disqualify you from being that House.
Slytherin
Slytherins are a loyalist-based House, meaning they will take on a possessive protectiveness toward whatever they decide to adopt in their life. I suspect that will also extend to their faith – a strong desire to stand up for their beliefs out of loyalty, to defend their religious leader and/or God against detractors, or whenever they see them being abused, and a sense of guilt if they fail to do these things.
Because “Family” is the Slytherin’s major focus, I can see Family being both an influence toward adopting a belief system (to stay close to my family) and a possible spot of doubt, if any harm befalls that family. When I hear about people walking away from their faith because their loved one died, or was paralyzed, or underwent a horrible misfortune, my first thought is that it’s a disheartened Slytherin, wanting no more to do with the “God that let this happen.” If it came right down to it, a Slytherin would choose their flesh and blood family over an “abstract concept of God,” and might reject that belief system if it asked them to no longer prioritize their loved ones, or even to exclude them based on a cold set of moral guidelines.
They might have doubts about their faith, and struggle just like every other type, but it might revolve around such convictions as the command to “leave your family and follow me” (said by Jesus). The idea of embarking on a life journey without their loved ones, or the thought of their loved ones being condemned to hell because they refuse to accept Jesus, will be a huge sticking point with them, and may cause them to question whether a God that would condemn their loved ones for all eternity is truly moral or “just.”
For a Slytherin who has lost their faith, there comes a moment of “divorce” in which they no longer adhere to that belief system out of loyalty. It was given, now it is taken away. They may or may not ever give it out again, but they feel no prolonged guilt in leaving, because it was a choice.
For one that remains a believer, I can see the faith of a Slytherin being completely loyal, as a belief “chosen” by them, adopted by them, and made “mine” to protect. They might even expand their “family” to include all other believers, and become a champion of the faith.
Ravenclaw
Ravenclaw is the House of reason and chosen beliefs, a House dedicated to questioning, evaluating, and constantly re-shifting their beliefs… or to accepting a belief system that makes sense to them, in which they feel represents their moral beliefs. This divides them into two camps – the True Believers (the chosen moral system) and the Skeptics (who create their own brand of faith through endless refinement). It divides them into those “able” to shift their views to adopt new information and process faith-shattering incidents, and those left to question “everything I thought I knew.”
To use a modern and recent example, Rob Bell’s book that proposed that hell may not exist threatened a lot of Christians, because it explored a “what if we were wrong for thousands of years” scenario. If there is no hell, then what else about the faith must we dismantle and question? Something like this, which shakes up the established belief system, could unnerve a True Believer to their core. They would face the choice of abandonment of their beliefs, because the system let them down and they have been disillusioned, or to hold onto their old system and reject the new information.
A Ravenclaw’s doubt would all stem from an intellectual assessment of their beliefs as “lacking,” being “inconsistent,” or not holding up to scrutiny. The Skeptic Ravenclaw has not adopted a faith system wholesale, but is cobbling it together out of what appeals to them and makes sense to them on a moral level – a guideline to life. They would struggle the most with comparing and contrasting new information with old, and deciding whether to integrate it or discard it; because not to “update” their beliefs with a stance that seems more true would wear on them. Grate on them. Make them ill at ease with their mental self.
I could see a Ravenclaw losing their faith if they could not reconcile the new with the old, and felt that their system had been a lie, calculated to deceive them. Or thought that it was immoral, from a rational standpoint. For a Ravenclaw who has lost their faith, there is also no guilt in walking away from it, because it was built out of a desire to find an establishment in which to rest their moral system… and having found that it does not work, they would adapt to one that does with no regrets.
For one that remains a believer, I could see a Ravenclaw being willing to “tamper” with their beliefs, and pave the way for a new generation of understanding.
Gryffindor
Gryffindor House is known for its willingness to act upon its felt convictions, to just “know” what is right and what is wrong, and stand on those principles, even in opposition to their friends and family. It’s the Martin Luther House, where people see that something is wrong and decide to do something about it, even if it means taking on the Medieval Catholic Church. The good thing about this House is that many of its members have founded Churches, and fearlessly paved the way for believers to follow in their footsteps, such as Saint Paul.
If a Gryffindor faces a crisis of faith, it is going to come from an inward place of “this is wrong.” How this establishment treats certain people is wrong. What it teaches about this passage is wrong. It will be a “felt” conviction somewhere deep within, that screams NO. Their struggle will be between bending to established belief systems, or walking away from them, having seen them to be fallible or false. The choice for them, if they retain their faith, is whether to yield or (more likely) to challenge the Church and demand it change. They can be martyrs, bullies, or ironclad in their convictions, but any source of doubt or true belief comes from “I feel in my gut that…” “I know this to be right…” “I know this to be true… or false…” and their own total ability to trust that internal voice.
For a Gryffindor who has lost faith, there is a lack of regret, because they did so based upon a moral conviction, a felt sense that this is “hogwash.” You don’t give hogwash any further thought, you go on with your life, and find a Cause worth fighting for. For one that keeps their faith, there is the fierce desire to form a call to action and cause Reform.
Hufflepuff
Hufflepuff is the House known for its openness, its sense of community, and its desire for inclusiveness. It’s the House that welcomes the sick, the weary, and the needy… or it can be the House that shuns unbelievers and anyone it sees as dangerous. It’s group-oriented in that it is looking to build family, and sees no distinctions between the needs of a loved one or a homeless man on the street. This is the Mother Theresa “bring me your dying” House.
A crisis of unbelief or doubt will come from a place of humanity. Doubts and questions about why God lets bad things happen to good people. Why that hurricane killed so many. Why He stands by and allows so much evil in the world, to do great harm to His children. Why hell exists. Isn’t that mean? A crisis of belief may arise out of resistance to traditionalism, among liberal believers—a separation of self from an entity it perceives to be excluding. This Hufflepuff might walk away from a Church that does not welcome the gay community, because they value human beings more than “a cold doctrine.” Or they might be the conservative Hufflepuff, who bands together with other like-minded people to guard traditional beliefs. Huffelpuffs can be warm and generous, or excluding of those who disagree with them. But any doubt will always stem from their focus on… people.
For a Hufflepuff who has lost their faith, there may be a sense of betrayal to a previous belief system. They, unlike Ravenclaws, are more sentimental about their beliefs, but if they felt their faith was “wrong” in its treatment of people, they would choose the people… and walk away. For one that remains a believer, their faith gives the Church a warm outreach into the community; it puts “hands of service and acceptance” to work in others’ lives, as a physical representation of Jesus in the world.
Do your faith struggles match up with any of these examples? Is there a time in your life when you faced serious doubt? What drew you back, or pushed you away?
The Sacred in the Secular 
This is a very interesting post! 👌
I think I can identify with all houses somewhat, except Gryffindor. It sounded kinda irritating, like rebellion for the sake of it.
Ironically, I’m considering I might be a Stripped Gryffindor over a Ravenclaw because they say you find unburned members of your house annoying and I kinda wish sin and our fallen nature didn’t interfere with our gut intuitions and make them flawed.
But I’m not too confident about this so I’m sticking with Ravenclaw for now.
I could relate to Slytherin’s need and willingness to stand up for my faith (and guilt at failing at it) but I wouldn’t think of abandoning my faith over something bad happening to my family. I might find it hard to leave my family for my faith but I have found a way to reconcile my faith with my need to care for my family.
Ravenclaw might come closest to my way of looking at the matter, because I think my crisis of faith (if I ever had any) would come due to Ravenclaw reasons (fear of my system being a lie or immoral). I might identify with the True Believer type.
But I see no need to keep questioning beliefs, I prefer them to be set in stone. As long as I’m sure my beliefs are true and moral, I don’t need to be questioning them endlessly.
The example you gave about that book wouldn’t make me question my beliefs, because my faith (which is a gift of the Holy Spirit) assures me hell does exist, which is enough for me.
As for Hufflepuff, I would definitely be part of the conservative crowd that tries to keep and defend traditional values. And I might feel a bit guilty about abandoning my belief system (even though I wish I didn’t if I found out it was wrong).
Great post, Charity! 😊
Gryffindors seem to trust their gut above all things. My father is one. He just… knew the Truth when he heard it, and has never wavered. But he has had no problem thinking outside the box, walking away from denominations he felt were misrepresenting God, etc. And for him, it’s not based in what the Bible says but in an instinctual knowledge from inside himself that “The church has this wrong. It does not fit the Nature of God.” Being an Intuitive probably has something to do with it, but his gut instincts are quite strong. Or you can go the other way — I once read that the actor Derek Jacobi went to see Billy Graham on his tour of England. He says for a moment, he felt the compulsion to go up and “get saved.” But the moment passed, he felt he had been emotionally manipulated, and he was angry about it. Left and never went back. His gut told him it was a lie, and he had to listen to it. To do otherwise would be a betrayal of himself.
You are very into living according to an ideology, so Ravenclaw is likely correct.
I admire Slytherins in the sense that they are fierce defenders of whom they love, but I don’t seem to have that inborn need to be loyal. I wish I were more loyal, it’s a trait I admire… but I prefer to calm things down, rationalize, and attempt to reach mediation or common ground or just diffuse the anger as best I can, myself and that of other people. I would really rather most people mind their own business, live how they want to live, and according to their beliefs, and take what Jesus said to heart: “Love one another. Treat each other as you would want to be treated.” If we all did that, the world would be a far better place.
So, I grew up Southern Baptist and I was baptized at 8. I don’t remember understanding a thing, I think I just wanted to do what everyone else was doing. I do know that when we started going to a Reformed Baptist church (which is a very cerebral denomination) when I was 11, we were expected to write a confession of faith, and I realized I was not saved. I from then on felt like I was the only one not saved. It was a small church and most people professed and were baptized as teens, and were generally goody-goody kids (I’m fundamentally a rebellious or willful personality, the alleged Lydia type salvation vs the Philippian jailer type. If they didn’t follow this tradition, they fell into another stereotype, trying to be as counter to every thought process and as bad as possible (which is illogical, rebellious I may be, but not contrarian for the sake of). IF they first professed then fell away they took this path. I fell into neither camp. I do think one other person of this background fell into my camp which is broadly I don’t “feel” convicted, but mentally I’m convinced. I fully accept and support much of the broadly reformed Baptist theology, the Biblical history, etc. but am not a believer, am not a Christian. And I just don’t know anyone like that. It’s like a tension of being Gryfindor (I must be zapped, I must have that moment . . . oh did I mention the hyper, excuse me, NOT hyper Calvinism?!), but with also the Ravenclaw secondary. My mind is there to some extent. my heart and soul are not.
I’ve also heard and known of some leaving the more cerebral cold (possibly reformed) baptists to go to the more emotional or mystical or ritual Catholicism (to me), and I’m not that either. I have to be both soul level convicted (I dislike emotionalism, it’s surface) AND intellectually convinced. It’s
I’ve been mulling over all these posts, I know I’ve some elements of Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryfindor. I remember that you can have more than one secondary I think as well as can model houses. I did find my post draft, but it wasn’t as detailed as I remembered. I’m leaning Gryfindor with perhaps both Ravenclaw and Slytherine Secondaries? I don’t know, but this typing resonates WAY more with me than myers briggs.
I grew up in a lot of Baptist churches, but was never completely convinced by all their rhetoric. I’m moved around through different denominations and evangelical circles and have sort of cobbled together my own beliefs about things that is a blend of some things (Christ, morals, “do unto others”) and a rejection of things I don’t believe (the End Times stuff, for example). It’s … well, a Ravenclaw approach to life. Keep this, delete that, update this when I find out it’s wrong, never attach too strongly to anything or anyone, regard most things with skepticism until convinced. As an adult, I made a rational decision to follow Christ and have never wavered since then. I decided it made sense that there is a God, and Christ’s teachings were how I wanted to live — another “decision” of coming to faith through a “head” space / decision process and nothing emotional or gut-instinctive. My father is a Gryffindor. He came to faith from simply being exposed to it once and knowing in his bones it was “right” for him. He has gone on to reject some stricter teachings, because they don’t “seem” like God. So he comes at it from a gut place. I come at it from a logical position.
You sound like a Ravenclaw in how you’ve adopted some things about your upbringing, rejected others, need things to make sense to you on a rational and intellectual level, and aren’t super attached to anything. Plus, as a Ravenclaw, you would build elements of the other Houses that you find admirable into your personal morality system.
MBTI takes longer to learn than this, IMO. But it’s also… quite accurate once you find your own type.
*claps* Good post, good post.
As a Hufflepuff, I definitely feel torn between my sentimental attachment to the Catholic Church as a community, and between my strong feeling that the way the Church treats certain groups of people (LGBT folks for example) is wrong, is against humanity.
But I also derive a rather lot of joy out of stubbornly refusing to let more conservative Catholics “push me out.” Because I don’t think they should be the only ones who get to make the rules. And I’m aware of the ebb and flow and evolution of Church policy throughout history, so when my conservative counterparts are like “we’ll neverrrrrrrrrrrrrrr change! neverrrrrrrrrr!” I sit back and cackle. Check back with me in a couple hundred years, buddy. 😉
Sad thing is, in 200 years neither of you will be here to gloat. 😉
yes, but consider: immortality 😛
Immortality somewhere else, yes. I really HOPE dead people don’t get to watch us!
I’ve always just assumed that … they DO …