(RNS) Evangelicals prefer Narnia, Catholics have a wanderlust for Wonderland, and mainline Protestants are split between hitching a ride to Hogwarts, Narnia or Neverland.
Ben Barnes, center, plays Prince Caspian in “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.” From left, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell and Skandar Keynes play the four Pevensie children, who return to Narnia after 1,300 years.
Those are the results from a unique poll by the television show “60 Minutes” and Vanity Fair magazine. The survey asked 1,000 Americans what fantasy land they’d most like to visit (Washington, D.C., excluded).
Evangelicals showed a clear preference for Narnia, the fantastical world of talking beasts entered through a enchanted wardrobe in C.S. Lewis’ series “The Chronicles of Narnia.”
Lewis, an Anglican, topped the list for 28 percent of evangelicals. Both his fiction — commonly interpreted as Christian allegories — and also his nonfiction have become touchstones in contemporary evangelicalism.
Just 8 percent of evangelicals said they would like to visit Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry from the Harry Potter series.
Richard Harris as Professor Dumbledore in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer”s
Stone.”
Alice’s Wonderland was many Catholics’ cup of tea, with 21 percent saying they’d like to take a trip down the rabbit hole. Peter Pan's Neverland (18 percent), Hogwarts (18 percent) and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth (16 percent) weren’t far behind.
Mainline Protestants were similarly split between Neverland (19 percent), Narnia (18 percent) and Hogwarts (18 percent).
Among those listed as “other” religions, Hogwarts was the clear favorite (31 percent). And Middle Earth led the way for those who professed no religious affiliation (23 percent).
The survey, conducted in late 2010 and recently highlighted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, includes a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
KRE/LEM END BURKE