The archive / Film, TV and books
1999–2008 · USA and worldwide
The children’s book that teaches witchcraft!
Harry Potter and witchcraft
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The verdict
The Harry Potter books were accused of luring children into the occult. Above all, they lured children into reading.
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What was said?
When the Harry Potter books became a worldwide craze around 1999, Christian groups, chiefly in the United States, protested that they would make witchcraft seem enticing. The books topped the list of the most challenged titles in American school libraries, and in a few places they were publicly burned.
The verdict: what happened next?
No evidence has shown that readers were drawn into the occult. The books have, however, got millions of children reading long novels, and several churches and theologians have praised their story of courage and friendship.
Today's debates about Harry Potter concern entirely different matters.
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