Harry Potter Controversies

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 32. Chapters: Religious debates over the Harry Potter series, Politics of Harry Potter, Harry Potter influences and analogues, Legal disputes over the Harry Potter series, Warner Bros. and J. K. Rowling vs. RDR Books. Excerpt: Religious debates over the Harry Potter series of books by J. K. Rowling stem largely from assertions that the novels contain occult or Satanic subtexts. A number of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christians have argued against the series, as have some Shia and Sunni Muslims. Responses to these claims have come from many corners. Supporters of the series have asserted that the magic in Harry Potter bears little resemblance to occultism, being more in the vein of fairy tales such as Cinderella and Snow White, or to the works of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, both authors known for writing fantasy novels with heavily Christian subtexts. Far from promoting a particular religion, some argue, the Harry Potter novels go out of their way to avoid discussing religion at all. However, the books' author, J. K. Rowling, describes herself as a practising Christian, and many have noted the overtly Christian references she includes in the final Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In the United States, calls for the books to be banned from schools have occasionally led to widely publicised legal challenges, often on the grounds that witchcraft is a government-recognised religion and that to allow the books to be held in public schools violates the separation of church and state. The Orthodox churches of Greece and Bulgaria have also campaigned against the series, and some Catholic writers and officials have voiced a critical stance. The books have been banned from private schools in the United Arab Emirates and criticised in the Iranian state-run press. Religious responses to Harry Potter have...