It's more than simply history. Myself and others continue to practice modern forms of ancient Paganism today. I, for one, proudly call myself a Witch.

The Snowden papers just revealed that the British, and surely NSA, have programs that allow them to spoof your identity online, allow them to secretly edit everything from comments to profiles, to public opinion polls. They can manipulate history before it even begins, and change it afterwards. There are literally…

Yeah but I mean don't stories about all monsters still rivet us?

Obligatory:

Children of Men, because it struck me as a completely realistic depiction of future Britain.

Maybe not the 6 year old, but their uber-fundie parents who have book burnings and want HP banned because THEY believe in witches and wizards should definitely be. Of course their kids are going to believe it's real. If your parents genuinely believed in the monster under the bed and talked about it like it was very…

Astronomy is a real science. I think you meant to say astrology.

that seems like a given. Kids at a young age who are exposed to something that ordinarily would be impossible, and who are told it is true, are going to apply that to other things. The same thing can be applied to non-religious families who preach mysticism or a variety of other pseudo-sciences (astronomy, I'm…

I do find that some people have trouble grasping the idea of fiction vs. non-fiction, or that sensible people can enjoy stuff they don't actually believe in. I was a weird, nerdy kid growing up, and I often had to explain to concerned grown-ups that, no, I didn't actually believe in UFOs or vampires or whatever. I…

Jesus wasn't born in winter. Christianity co opted the winter solstice to convert pagans.

Well, ironically, you're arguing for exactly what I'm arguing for.

Yes, of course they can. If they can't tell fact from fiction, it's a delusion. It doesn't matter how young you are, it's still a delusion. The only difference is that, if it's a young child, the fact that they may be deluded about something is less reason for concern than it would be for an adult.

There is a difference between being an imaginative child and a gullible child. You don't need to accept everything you are told to enjoy letting your mind run wild. I was a hilariously skeptical kid — I think I called my parents out on the Tooth Fairy when I was 7 or 8, and immediately deduced that Santa and the…

I wonder if this has been a subtext of the Christian Right's going after Harry Potter. Quite aside from associating magic with Satanism (or whatever), maybe they know their kids are uniquely susceptible to being swayed by such fantasy. (Because they themselves have made their kids susceptible.)

Imagination and delusion are not the same thing.

Can't have children believing in anything magical or mystical, can we?

So, kids who are taught that magic is real go on to believe that magic is real.