Rowling herself identifies as a Christian, and sees the books as exploring Christian themes of sacrifice and resurrection:
“To me, the religious parallels have always been obvious,” Rowling said. “But I never wanted to talk too openly about it because I thought it might show people who just wanted the story where we were going.
At the end of her latest and final installment in the series, there are specific references to Christianity and themes of life after death and resurrection.
At one point Harry visits his parents’ graves and finds two biblical passages inscribed on their tombstones. “They are very British books, so on a very practical note, Harry was going to find biblical quotations on tombstones,” she said.
“But I think those two particular quotations he finds on the tombstones …they sum up, they almost epitomise, the whole series.”
- The inscription on the Potters’ gravestone is from 1 Corinthians 15:26 in the Bible, which discusses Christ defeating all enemies, the last being death itself