It is quite easy to get lost in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. If you are new to the series you may find yourself suddenly having nightmares about Death Eaters, dementors and, yes, the seemingly cold Professor Snape. Or if you are a seasoned fan, such as myself, you are probably wondering how you will survive the “regular” world without getting killed—or worse, expelled. But have you ever contemplated the possibility that you might get so immersed in a series you find religious value in its pages? The recent phenomenon of “fiction-based” religion may sound strange, but what if I were to tell you that there was some merit behind it? These questions, and many more, can be answered by looking at Snapeism, a religion that worships the infamous Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series.
First and foremost, a fiction-based religion is created using certain aspects in fantasy. Very few studies have been devoted to fiction-based religions, but that is not to say they are not legitimate. Perhaps the reason there are few studies is that it requires a “virtual” ethnography due to the fact that members are generally geographically scattered and either do not have, or have very limited formal, in-person meetings, like many other more widely accepted religions.
Despite the limited material with which to study fiction-based religions, each study is tremendously extensive. It is no coincidence that the three fantasies with arguably the largest fandoms, "Harry Potter", "Star Wars", and "Lord of the Rings", have created religions based on portions of each story. For example, Jediism is a religious movement centered around the Jedi of "Star Wars". Ilsaluntë Valion is the religious movement that believes J.R.R. Tolkien outlined spiritual ideals in the "Lord of the Rings" series. The scholars who have studied Jediism and Ilsaluntë Valionhave both explored the contents of the religion and legitimized their belief system. Thus, I will attempt to do the same with Snapeism.
In order to fully understand Snapeism, one must first understand who Snape is, which of course can only truly be done by reading the books, written by J.K. Rowling, and watching the film adaptations. This is comparable to the fact that Christianity cannot be fully understood without first reading the entirety of the Bible. Just as one could never fully understand Christianity through film adaptations, one must read all seven novels.
Severus Snape is a controversial character within the series because he is seen as an evil, cold-hearted human being for the majority. His extreme hatred for Harry Potter makes for a very unlikable character. This, along with the fact that he was admittedly a follower of Voldemort, and only supposedly turned spy for Dumbledore and the Order, created an image for readers that was like no other. However, towards the end the reader will learn that in reality, he was on the “good” side the whole time. Despite his icy, uncaring, and downright wicked exterior, he always tried to protect Harry because Snape was irrevocably in love with Harry’s deceased mother, Lily. His supposed reform from evil turned out to be true, even though up until the end only Dumbledore believed him.
It is conceivable that the origins of Snapeism stems from empathizing with this character and regarding him as someone who was simply misunderstood. According to Zoe Alderton, a virtual ethnographer on Snapeism, “there’s copious historical precedent for fans rescuing characters killed by their creators (Sherlock Holmes—whom Snape more than superficially resembles—being the chief example)” (Alderton 225). Thus, members of Snapeism most likely felt the need to “rescue” Snape because he did not receive the proper redemption he deserved after being bullied throughout his childhood by the Marauders and dying with everyone presuming he was Voldemort’s right hand man.
As previously stated, Snapeism is the religion worshiping Severus Snape. Snapists or Snapewives believe that they are married to Snape on the astral plane (See Figure 1). In addition, they believe that they each have a sexual relationship with him, claiming they have felt his physical touch, and writing about their experiences in brief erotic literature. There are three “main” wives, Rose, Tonya, and Conchita, who dedicated numerous online journal entries to Snape. They believe that J.K. Rowling was a flawed interpreter of Snape. “By this logic, Rowling can be viewed as someone who was able to write Snape’s character after being influenced by him—perhaps via some kind of channeling—as opposed to an author who created Snape from her own imagination” (Alderton 225). This, again, is similar to the Christian belief that the Bible was written by flawed human beings inspired by God. Because of this, Snape is not just a fictional character that lives in a book, rather an entity that transcends the published pages and deserves recognition as such.
(Figure 1: Snapewives Rose [left] and Tonya [right])
Due to the fact that the Snapists view Rowling as often misguided in her writings, the wives tend to remedy the parts of the novels that Snape has told them were incorrect. Tonya even held a reburial for the Snape of the "Harry Potter" novels, guided by the Snape of the astral plane. Tonya writes, “We stood looking down at his coffin. I stared up at him and placed a hand on his back. ‘If anyone can do this, it is you, Severus.’ I told him quietly. With a nod, he opened his coffin and saw himself dressed in his robe and coat. Hands clasped, marble white. He turned and conjured a Black Onyx casket. Black outside, white inside. I prepared it and watched as he lifted his body and floated it to the new casket” (Alderton 252). This demonstrates the relationship the wives had with the astral Snape and their belief that he surpasses the walls of the novel.
The wives acknowledge each other as spiritual spouses and have vivid experiences of the presence of Snape. Tonya even has the ability to channel him and help others to hear his voice. They believe that Snape speaks to them and it is their duty to live by his word and help others to do so as well. Despite their acknowledgement of each other within their small community, the majority of the Harry Potter fandom regards them as “extreme” and mocks them on a regular basis. In one instance, it was even suggested in an online community dedicated to Harry Potter fans, that Tonya and Conchita have their children taken away because of their intense feelings towards Snape. Even though the majority of Harry Potter fans believe these women are delusional, there were reportedly a few that came to their defense and realized that such criticism was slightly unreasonable. One fan by the username ‘Niqaeli’ stated:
“I mean, if you’re married to Snape on an astral plane, okay, I’m going to think you’re f*cking weird and possibly not want much to do with you, but whatever. I think this of, like, Mormons, to be honest and I live in a city full of them. Have you seen their holy underwear? But people are suggesting we call CPS [Child Protective Services] on Mormons who aren’t the fringe cultists living in compounds and sh*t, yeah? How is a relationship with Snape so much more damaging? Because it’s not as common, basically. And because it’s fannishness and, we really must be certain to police how people are fannish. Because god knows, we’re already off the charts weird! We can’t be seen as ~crazy~!”
Essentially, fiction-based religion creates an argument that people of every religion are one of two things: either everyone is “delusional” and “crazy” or no one is. Either the Snapists deserve to be taken seriously, along with other religions of the world, or every religion deserves to be mocked and ridiculed for their “crazy” beliefs. There is no physical proof of the spiritual beliefs among any religious system, and Snapeism is no different. Maintaining the comparison to Christianity, Christians live by the word of God, follow His teachings in the Bible, and worship Him in public or private ways. The Snapists live by the word of Snape, follow his teachings in Harry Potter, in addition to being vessels of wisdom themselves, and worship him in public and private ways. They have a core text, a divine figure, and religious practices.
This generates a dispute around what makes a religion “valid”. Is it a large following and a solid historical background? Most scholars would argue that Christians had trouble in the beginning—there were very few believers and Jesus was arrested and crucified because he claimed to be the Messiah—so what makes this religion any more “valid” than another? Why is one core inspirational text so much more preposterous than another? Who’s to say Snapeism won’t rise and be one of the largest religions in hundreds of years, along with Jediism and Ilsaluntë Valion? With the technology of today, and the ability to spread ideas across the world in a split second, it is very plausible that fiction-based religions will rise in numbers and followers.
Today, the three original Snapewives have since disbanded—most likely due to the harsh ridicule they faced from within the Harry Potter fandom, in addition to a falling out that Rose and Tonya had because Rose had a growing interest in a new man: Jethro Gibbs from NCIS. However, Rose’s online journal depicting her experiences with Snape (and Jethro) is still available to be viewed. Despite the collapse of public religious practices, these were not the only three Snapists—just the most vocal—therefore the religion may be alive and well amongst smaller groups. Even so, Snapeism raises a lot of questions about what constitutes a religion, and fiction-based religion in general challenges the historic and traditional religions. Despite the fact that fiction-based religions are less popular, they cannot be discredited. The fact of the matter is, as I have previously stated, there is no substantial evidence of the supernatural, and therefore, no one religion should be treated as less than another. Severus Snape may not be alive to see the followers he has gained, but his greasy-haired spirit may very well be among us, biding his time, waiting for the perfect person to “inspire” so he can once again rise to power.
