Harry Potter has the Christian world divided. Either a parent reads the books to their child (and rereads them by themselves because they love them) or decides that they are of the devil and must be forbidden. Yes, some parents may be in the middle and I acknowledge that, but is there evidence on both sides of the debate? Let's dive into it.
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The Harry Potter fandom is huge everywhere. The first editions of the books are worth money. It is quality fiction, in my opinion, and worth at least looking into. I know people who made the books forbidden and their kids dove into the fandom anyway (and they could do nothing about it).
The main plot is that young Harry Potter is informed that he is a wizard and should attend Hogwarts. While there he discovers Voldemort - I mean, He Who Shall Not Be Named - is trying to kill him because he tried to kill him before and failed. I won't give anything more away.
Some Christian parents that I know read the books to their kids in order to be sure of what Harry Potter was before jumping to conclusions (and loved the series). Others, unfortunately, did not and decided that it was evil without doing their research at all. I'm going to try to respectfully represent both sides.
It isn't evil
First of all, if you know real life from fantasy you aren't going to have much of a problem with the series or the fun fandom stuff (butterbeer, chocolate frogs, cosplay) that comes with it. If you are not able to tell reality from the fictional worlds in books you have serious problems and shouldn't be reading any fiction at all (and I know some disorders do cause this, by the way, so I'm not making fun of anyone - I'm being serious).
JK Rowling also claims that it has Christian ideas planted in it, like the Christ rising again (Harry Potter killed and suddenly living). The hiccup is that some people couldn't get past the fantasy world to get into it and see it, given witchcraft is forbidden in the Bible. The only difference between this and LOTR or Narnia is that Rowling is not known well in Christian circles, which makes a difference in the Christian community and determines whether strict parents allow it. Many people grow to adulthood and find the books are not satanic. The fact is that some parents overreacted and didn't do the research they should have.
Did you know that Latin is highly used in Harry Potter? Expecto Patronum means "I await a guardian" in Latin. All they are doing is speaking Latin into the air while holding wands. I don't believe she is emulating real witchcraft because of this and one other fact; only some people could use magic and others had no access to it, unlike real witchcraft, which anyone can pick up. Charles Colson claims that while there are spells cast the characters don't truly make any contact with the supernatural of real-life witchcraft at all. Colson also loved the show of loyalty and sacrifice for each other the trio of main characters portrayed. Some individuals also believe that the show of friendship and loyalty despite the risks was admirable and that doing the right thing regardless of the consequences was promoted in the series, even if Christianity wasn't.
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Some Wiccans did not like the series, and they don't want to be connected with it. Crazy? I know! With that sort of revelation, I'd like to say that it likely does not reflect Wiccan beliefs if they don't want to be near it. Don't believe me? Here is a quote from one of the sources at the end of the blog post.
The fundamentalists’ only allies in anti-Potterism were, interestingly enough, the Wiccans. "[M]any are unhappy that others believe the books have anything to do with the realities of their religion," Jan Glidewell reported in the St. Petersburg Times on November 16, 2001. "They said, correctly, that Harry’s flying brooms and transformational spells have about as much to do with Wicca as flying carpets have to do with Sufism, Easter bunnies with Christianity, or living in Miami Beach with Judaism."
Read that paragraph again and tell me that Wiccans are trying to tempt your kids. They aren't.
It is evil
There are some who refute the Harry Potter books being Christian in series. They claim bad fantasy is marked with what can or can't be replicated. You can't replicate Gandalf's magic, but you can find astrology and spellbooks close to the world Rowling created, allegedly. Witchcraft is actually real. Children who copy everything can look into the occult from here easily because the subject was brought up (even if it is not accurately copied in the fiction itself).
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Rowling does not have a presence in Christian circles, like I mentioned before, so we don't have proof she is a believer and is using it to further the gospel. She doesn't talk about her faith often, thus some come to the conclusion she isn't Christ-following. Rowling has explained it one way and others have contradicted her with their ideas, so some think that people misinterpreted her books as Christian morally.
Witchcraft, of any kind, is evil. This is true. The Bible also tells us that witchcraft is forbidden. Harry Potter is set in a school that is purely teaching witchcraft, thus some parents decided that the books were forbidden, as well. This needs little explanation and is pretty straightforward.
It can be evil, but it depends
Why is this category here? I'm so glad you asked! Here we have the people who are intelligent enough to know that kids copy everything at a certain age and geek out on what they love. If someone is not able to determine what is fictional and what is real this book is harmful and could truly lead them into the witchcraft section of a bookstore (only the spells are real). If they are grounded in their faith, mature enough to know what is a Harry Potter recipe book and what is a book on real witchcraft, and don't emulate every fiction they read it is totally not harmful.
Do you need help determining if your child is mature enough for this? Let's give you some guidelines.
1. Can they understand what is real and what isn't? If not, skip it for now.
2. Do they emulate everything they see to the point that they might pick up a real spellbook? Skip it for now if this applies.
3. How old are they? If they are old enough to enjoy fiction for what it is (a made-up world) they are totally okay to read it. At this point, you ought to be mature enough to not accidentally stumble into the wrong section of Books-A-Million.
Rule of thumb, know your kids and what they tend to do with ideas. If you think they will actually walk into the occult after reading it (and you know what is truly in it, not just what so-and-so told you) don't offer it as a bedtime story or a car ride entertainment. Don't make a big deal out of it, either. If your kids have a grounded faith you ought to have no issues and they will probably find it on their own, anyway.
A good guideline for age is necessary, and also because the reading level of the book matters. A five-year-old will not be able to truly appreciate a book with this much complexity. It is suggested that they can truly enjoy it (depending on their reading levels, of course) around 9 or 10 years and older. They do get intense after book 3, so I'd wait to introduce it to them until they are at this age.
Conclusions
Age and maturity have a lot to do with when kids can handle something and understand reality from fantasy. Fandoms talk about potions and spells, yes, but the world of Harry Potter magic (as described in the novel) was never real. Fans of the series know that if they can discern fiction from real life. I don't believe that it is the same as real witchcraft, which anyone can pick up. Parents declaring something forbidden will actually drive kids toward a series when their parents aren't around (and you never want your kids hiding their hobbies from you). We simply must calm down and think.
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| Photo by Meme |
Yes, witchcraft is not good, but the fantasy genre uses magic and sorcerers all the time. LOTR can get away with it, but yet Harry Potter can't? It just seems odd to me. There are TV shows out there now that are far more dangerous than Harry Potter ever was, like Supernatural, Motherland: Fort Salem, and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Yet, here we are targeting comparably tame kid's books for witchcraft influence. This is not the only thing to worry about in media, so do your research on everything that looks like it portrays actual witchcraft because there is a lot out there (including Scooby-Doo and the Hex Girls!).
I am not a parent, but I do think that you should watch stuff with your kids and discuss what they need to know. I know that when I have kids there will be one or two TV shows I won't introduce to them. Parents do have a responsibility to care for the minds of their kids. Once adulthood hits you are free of that responsibility and hopefully they have strong faith by then, but before adulthood comes you are there to protect them. Do the research you need to and know your kids.
Sources:
https://baylorlariat.com/2018/11/15/harry-potter-satanic-witchcraft-or-christianity-inspired-narrative/
https://www1.cbn.com/books/harry-potter-harmless-christian-novel-or-doorway-to-the-occult
http://www2.trincoll.edu/csrpl/RINVol5No1/Harry%20Potter.htm
https://indianexpress.com/article/parenting/learning/jk-rowling-birthday-right-age-to-introduce-kids-to-harry-potter-5866724/
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/january10/29.37.html
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1999/december6/12.0a.html
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