Welcome back to Godbytes, the Monday edition:

Harry Potter Fervor continues as Ryan Hamm at Relevant calls everyone’s favorite angsty wizard “one of the most Christian symbols in pop culture”:

So what is it about Harry that’s made everyone go crazy for so long?

Well, obviously there’s the story. And the writing. And the humor, the action, the acting, the heart, the emotion, the magic … there are plenty of reasons. But for Christians, there might be even more reason to enjoy the Potter series. Because, whether some of the more vocal minority want to admit it or not, Harry Potter and his story ended up being one of the most explicitly Christian symbols in modern popular culture.

Joseph Laycock over at Religion Dispatches wonders if The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a supposedly tongue-in-cheek faux religion, is redefining religion for ever-confused scholars:

The mythology of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (or FSM) was created as a satire, though it has provided religion scholars with an interesting case study. As the ranks of the Pastafarians continue to swell on both sides of the Atlantic, scholars and legal experts are challenged to reassess their definition of religion.

There is some hubbub over at the Washington Post about the political implications of a Fox News reporter who said that Mormons are not Christians:

The question of whether or not Mormons are considered ‘Christians’ is sensitive and controversial. It is also consequential for Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Jon Hunstman, whose Mormon faith puts them at a disadvantage in the poll.

Joanna Brooks fired back: Funny thing is, the very Sunday morning that Earhardt and her co-hosts (one of whom hollered “oh, yeah” in agreement) sabotaged Romney by declaring him “not a Christian,” at least a million American Mormons were sitting in chapels nationwide taking a bread-and-water sacrament in remembrance of Jesus.

And Conor Friedersdorf at the Atlantic offered his two cents about Herman Cain’s view on mosque-building:

As it turns out, those of us who suspected that he isn’t to be trusted with the liberty of religious minorities were right. In the clip above, he asserts that every community in the United States should have the right to ban mosque construction. “They’re objecting to the fact that Islam is both a religion and a set of laws: sharia law,” Cain said. “That’s the difference between any one of our other traditional religions… The people in the community know best, and I happen to side with the people in the community.”

As for the twitterverse: the Tweet(s) of the Day go to a duo of remarks from progressive Muslim author Reza Aslan who had some snark tucked away for Glenn Beck as he prepares for his rally in Israel:

@rezaaslan – Citing security concerns Glenn Beck will move Jerusalem rally from Temple Wall to other location. But I thought Jesus told him where to go?

@rezaaslan – Glenn Beck moving Jerusalem rally. Apparently Jesus didn’t read security briefings before telling him where to hold it.

That’s it for now. As always, make sure to follow us @religionnewsnow!