ReligionLink

UPDATED JULY 23, 2007

What’s a wizard to do? Contention continues over the spiritual meaning, benefits and dangers of the Harry Potter books. Fans and critics alike are debating the meaning of Christian references and themes they see in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book of the series, which published July 21, 2007. The fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, opened July 11. Even as a universe of Potter lovers explore the nuances of the series, critics speak out on issues, including Christian references, occult themes, and moral choices. An entire genre of books about Potter – pro, con or simply academic – has arisen.

Questions for reporters

• How has spiritual debate over the Harry Potter books played out in local schools, libraries and churches, and how has it changed over time? Are local religious organizations discussing the series in sermons, workshops, summer children’s programs, and clubs? Have local schools settled the issue of whether the book can be required reading?

• Have churches used the books as an opportunity to talk about moral themes with children, or have they condemned them? How have parents, kids and clergy reacted?

• What do kids say about how the book has affected their views? Do they agree with what their parents and pastors say about it? Have the books led them to read other books with moral themes?

• What do non-Christians say about the series?

Why it matters

The “magick” of the Harry Potter series may not be real, but the books and movies have shown immense power to stir debate over spiritual themes such as the war between good and evil, the possibility of redemption, and virtues such as courage – all issues that shape adults’ lives, as well as children’s.

Jump to background

Sources

International Sources

• The Rev. Francis Bridger, a theologian and principal of Trinity College in Bristol, England, is the author of A Charmed Life: The Spirituality of Potterworld (Image Books paperback, 2002). Contact francis.bridger@trinity-bris.ac.uk.

National sources

• Penny Linsenmayer of Houston, Texas, helped organize Nimbus 2003, the first international symposium about Harry Potter, held in July 2003. Linsenmayer founded the Harry Potter for Grownups Internet discussion group, which has nearly 7,000 members. Contact pennylin@swbell.net.

• Tom Morris, a philosopher, author and president of the Morris Institute for Human Values in Wilmington, N.C., is contributing a chapter to a book on philosophy and Harry Potter, forthcoming from Open Court Publishing. Morris’ chapter concerns courage. Morris’ books include If Aristotle Ran General Motors (Henry Holt & Co., 1998) and Philosophy for Dummies (For Dummies, 1999). Contact 910-256-6119, tmorris@morrisinstitute.com.

• Connie Neal is the author of The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the Stories of the World’s Most Famous Seeker (Westminster John Knox Press, 2002) and What’s a Christian to Do With Harry Potter? (Waterbrook Press paperback, 2001). She also helps churches start Harry Potter Book & Bible Clubs for kids and youth, along with education for their parents. Contact cwneal@surewest.net.

• John Granger of Port Hadlock, Wash., is the author of The Hidden Key to Harry Potter: Understanding the Meaning, Genius and Popularity of Joanne Rowling’s Harry Potter Novels (Zossima Press, 2002). Read “Harry Beasts,” an excerpt from his book Looking for God in Harry Potter (Tyndale House, 2004), about how the animals in Harry Potter support a Christian reality. It is posted by Christianity Today. Contact Granger at 360-379-5740, wow@olympus.net.

• Elinor Mosser has led a Harry Potter discussion group for religious leaders on Ecunet, a nonprofit network of Christian organizations, since 1999. She is a web conferencing associate with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Louisville, Ky., and a minister who specializes in nurturing online communities for religious leaders. Contact 502-569-5174, elinor.mosser@pcusa.org.

• Evelyn J.P. Weston, co-pastor of First Lutheran Church in Renville, Minn., currently serves under the screen name “HogwartsChaplain” as volunteer chaplain and prefect moderator at Chamber of Secrets Forums, a Harry Potter message board. Read her article “Religious Aspects of Harry Potter,” published in 2002 by The Concord: A Journalistic Ministry of Students at Luther Seminary. Contact eweston@ecunet.org (plain text only) or eweston@luthersem.edu.

• Emily Balawejder and Amy Tenbrink are lead event planners for a Harrry Potter academic symposium to be held in Salem, Mass., in October 2005. Contact Emily@witchinghour.com and Amy@witchinghour.com.

Background

• Pope Benedict has said the Harry Potter books “erode Christianity in the soul” of young people according to a July 13, 2005, Times Online story.

• Read a July 15, 2005, media release in which Wiccans explain why discussion about Harry Potter and witchcraft affect them.

• Read a June 19, 2003, Christianity Today Web blog titled, “Most evangelicals like Harry Potter. Really.”

• The year 2004 was the first in five years that Harry Potter did not appear on the list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books. Read a press release from the American Library Association.

• Read the transcript of a 2001 Religion & Ethics Newsweekly cover story, “The Spiritual Dimension of Fantasy.”

• Read a March 4, 2003, WorldNetDaily article, “Just Wild About Harry.”

• Harry Potter for Seekers posts articles, resources, lists of books and more for “seekers who want to explore the deep spiritual foundation of Harry Potter.”

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

• Gareth Matthews is a philosophy professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is contributing a chapter to a book on philosophy and Harry Potter, forthcoming from Open Court Publishing. Contact 413-545-5801, matthews@philos.umass.edu.

• In April, Antonio Rivera of New Haven, Conn., asked the local school board to remove Harry Potter books from city schools. Read a March 31, 2003, NBC30.com story and an April 3 Yale Daily News article.

• Amy Miller, a cantor in Pittsfield, Mass., will be a presenter at Nimbus 2003, the first international symposium about Harry Potter, which will be July 17-20, 2003, in Orlando, Fla. The subtitle of her discussion session on Jewish perspectives of the series is “What’s a nice Jewish boy like Harry Potter doing in a place like this?” Contact 413-443-6567, cantor@vgernet.net.

• On Nov. 14, 2002, at a Ramada Inn in Lewiston, Maine, the Rev. Douglas Taylor of Lewiston’s Jesus Party Church cut up a copy of Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets as the movie based on the book was about to open, according to an American Booksellers Association article.

IN THE EAST

• W. Christopher Stewart teaches philosophy at Houghton College in Houghton, N.Y., and is co-authoring, with Houghton colleague Ben Lipscomb, a chapter for a book on philosophy and Harry Potter, forthcoming from Open Court Publishing. Contact 585-567-9637, Chris.Stewart@houghton.edu.

• David Baggett, assistant professor of philosophy at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., is co-editing a book on philosophy and Harry Potter, forthcoming from Open Court Publishing. Contact 570-208-5242, Dbagit9@aol.com.

• Peter Appelbaum, an associate professor of education at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa., wrote the chapter “Magic, Technoculture, and Becoming Human” for Harry Potter’s World: Multidisciplinary Critical Perspectives (Routledge; 2003). Contact 215-572-4476, appelbaum@arcadia.edu.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• Lana A. Whited is professor of English and journalism at Ferrum College in Ferrum, Va., and editor of The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon (University of Missouri, 2002). She co-authored a chapter on moral issues. Contact 540-365-4334, lwhited@ferrum.edu.

• Richard C. Burke is an English professor at Lynchburg College in Virginia and is scheduled to speak at Nimbus 2003: A Harry Potter Symposium on “Lord Voldemort’s Gift for Spreading Discord & Enmity: The Rise of Evil in Harry Potter.” Contact 804-544-8632, burke@lynchburg.edu.

Marcia Montenegro of Arlington, Va., a former astrologer who has the Web site Christian Answers for the New Age, opposes the Harry Potter series. Read an article she wrote about the series. Contact cana2000@erols.com.

IN THE SOUTH

• U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren in April ordered the Cedarville, Ark., School District to put Harry Potter books back into general circulation. The board in June 2002 had decided students must obtain parental permission to check out the books. Read an April 23, 2003, CNN story.

IN THE MIDWEST

• Philip Nel teaches English at Kansas State University and is the author of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Novels: A Reader’s Guide (Continuum, 2001). Read a Feb. 13, 2003, Kansas State Collegian article. Contact 785-532-2165, philnel@ksu.edu.

• Elizabeth E. Heilman is an assistant professor of teacher education at Michigan State University and editor of Harry Potter’s World: Multidisciplinary Critical Perspectives (Routledge, 2003). Contact 517-432-4860, eheilman@msu.edu.

• Some Duluth, Minn., area religious schools ban the series, but some don’t, according to a Nov. 15, 2002, News Tribune article posted by Snowbizz.com.

• Catherine A. Jack Deavel and David Paul Deavel are professors at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., who have written and spoken on the merits of the series and are contributors to a forthcoming book on philosophy and Harry Potter to be released by Open Court Publishing. Read a March 16 article by the Zenit News Agency. Contact Catherine Deavel, philosophy professor, 651-962-5372, cajack@stthomas.edu; David Deavel, theology professor, 651-962-5329, dpdeavel@stthomas.edu.

• The Rev. John Zingaro of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Cottage Grove, Wis., self-published The Harry Potter Sermons (2001), showing how the stories illustrate biblical truths. Contact 608-839-4768, jzingaro@mailbag.com.

• Deborah J. Taub and Heather Servaty, who teach education at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., wrote the chapter “Controversial Content in Children’s Literature: Is Harry Potter Harmful to Children?” for Harry Potter’s World: Multidisciplinary Critical Perspectives (Routledge; 2003). Contact Taub at 765- 494- 9746, dtaub@purdue.edu. Contact Servaty at 765-494-083, servaty@purdue.edu.

• Deborah De Rosa, an assistant English professor at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, wrote the chapter “Wizardly Initiations: Moral, Familial, and Social” for Harry Potter’s World: Multidisciplinary Critical Perspectives (Routledge; 2003). Contact 815-753-6650, derosa@niu.edu.

• The Rev. John Killinger is the author of God, the Devil and Harry Potter: A Christian Minister’s Defense of the Beloved Novels (St. Martin’s Press, Dec. 2002). A former professor at Vanderbilt University, he is now minister of the Little Stone Church on Mackinac Island, Mich. Contact St. Martin’s Press, 212-674-5151.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

• Lynn Schofield Clark is director of the Teens and the New Media @ Home project and assistant research professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is the author of From Angels to Aliens: Teenagers, the Media, and the Supernatural (Oxford University Press, 2003). Contact 303-735-5631, Lynn.Clark@Colorado.edu.

• Shawn Klein, adjunct professor of philosophy at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Ariz., is co-editing a book on philosophy and Harry Potter, forthcoming from Open Court Publishing. Contact sklein@alumni.tufts.edu.

• Douglas Groothuis, associate professor of philosophy at the interdenominational, graduate-level Denver Seminary, is critical of the series. Contact 303-762-6895, Doug.Groothuis@densem.edu.

• Read a Feb. 14, 2003, El Paso Times story, “Church Leaders Disagree on Merits of Harry Potter.”

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• Author and speaker Berit Kjos, who leads Kjos Ministries in California, opposes the Harry Potter series. Contact andy_berit1@crossroad.to.