News

"Poor Harry Potter," The Globe's Patrick White wrote Thursday in his article Churches co-opt Potter's magic

"As if battling Voldemort, Death Eaters and Dementors wasn't enough, the boy wizard has also endured the wrath of religious conservatives in the decade since J.K. Rowling's books first found their way into the hearts of young Muggles the world over.

"There have been book burnings, book bans and even a declaration by one Catholic Church official last year that Harry Potter is 'the devil.'

"But with Potter fans already lining up ahead of the final book release this Saturday, some Christian denominations are now eschewing condemnation for praise, embracing Ms. Rowling's tales as powerful religious fables for our time."

globeandmail.com has invited an inter-faith panel to debate these issues online and to take questions about Harry Potter and religion from our readers.

Their mini-essays are printed below. We asked the panelists to address two questions: What does your religion/faith/creed say about magic, witchcraft and wizardry? How does your faith deal with the phenomenal interest among children — and adults — in Harry Potter's fictional world?

In addition, we asked them to answer a selected number of questions from our readers in response to their writings. Those answers are posted below the mini-essays.

Editor's Note: In this particular format, we will print reader comments submitted in the usual way. But, because of the nature of the topic, we will be doing something different. We reserve the right to edit comments in this case for length, clarity, relevance and matters of taste.

Lorna Dueck, evangelical Christian journalist: My creed would advise me on the subject of magic, witchcraft and wizardry that these are spiritual systems that attempt to fight against God.

The only magic that qualifies in this category is when magic is a form of occultism. When magic, spell casting, witchcraft, fortune telling, and other forms of spiritual wizardry attempt to receive information and alter events through a source other than God, the activity is condemned by God.

My belief system is based on Christianity. My understandings of this faith are rooted in the Apostles Creed (215 A.D.) and the Westminster Confession (1646). Ancient as these teachings are, they help me understand an example where early Christians faced magic, witchcraft and wizardry and asked Jesus Christ to overpower the distraction that it was.

That affected issues in the local economy — even to the millions of dollars in Acts 19 when magic and incantation books were burned in a public bonfire.

The evangelical church is still dealing with phenomenal interest among children and adults in this topic, and would have to admit many children in church have read more of Harry Potter than the Bible.

At the opening launch, the books were almost treated as contraband, and the faithful snuck quietly into the movies if they went at all.

But it was a losing battle to shut out the popular wizard.

Now, the fiction is seen as an opportunity to launch discussions about the cherished tradition of fantasy to teach about good and evil, to discuss the battle Harry has to overcome his own inner dark side and that of others, and to teach and warn what spiritual realities are involved in different forms of magic, witchcraft and wizardry.

If a Christian parent is taking seriously their faith's command to teach their children, the discoveries and discussions are closely guided by their involvement.

Rabbi Ed Elkin, First Narayever Congregation, Toronto: The Torah prohibits the Israelites from imitating the practices of their Canaanite neighbours in the Land of Israel, among them augury, soothsaying, divination, sorcery, casting of spells, and the consultation of ghosts or familiar spirits (Deuteronomy 18:10-11).

Instead of these methods of understanding the divine will, God sends prophets, who communicate God's messages to the people.

Why are magical practices like these prohibited so clearly in biblical, and later Jewish, law?

The premise of magic is that there are powers beyond the control even of God, powers which human beings can learn to manipulate in order to achieve certain desired ends.

This premise could never be acceptable in traditional Jewish theology, which has always maintained that God created everything that exists and therefore there are no forces beyond God's control.

Incantations, charms, spells — all the stuff that makes the world of Harry Potter tick — are therefore not considered efficacious in Jewish tradition.

The laws of nature may be flouted from time to time — for example, a sea may part in order to allow a community of escaped slaves to go free.

But such things happen only by a decree of the one God who created natural laws in the first place, not because of human manipulation.

This utter rejection of magic and sorcery make it all the more ironic that in the Middle Ages and on into the modern period, a common anti-Semitic canard was that Jews had supernatural powers and engaged in Satanic black magic.

All this sounds pretty bad for Harry Potter in a Jewish context.

However, the laws prohibiting magical practices imagine people engaging in these practices while believing that they will work.

The law does not prohibit our reading about such things for the purpose of entertainment.

Although on the margins of the Jewish world, there are those who would prohibit reading Harry Potter on the basis of it being a phenomenon of the outside world — because they believe that we shouldn't be participating in that world at all, the vast majority of Jews participate enthusiastically in the culture of the societies in which they live.

That doesn't mean we don't critique that culture from time to time.

For example, an important Jewish critique of the Harry Potter series is the fact the characters are all either good or evil — whereas Jewish tradition sees good and evil in all of us, as well as the ever-present possibility (absent from HP) of redemption and forgiveness.

However, overall, we may read these books, see the movies, enjoy them for their entertainment value — and then get back to the harder, more challenging, but ultimately more rewarding work of studying Torah.

Owen Smith, a youth worker in the Church of England and author of "Mixing it up with Harry Potter":

Attitudes within the Church to magic and wizardry vary. But when it comes to dabbling with "black magic," Christians would agree on the need to take the reality of evil very seriously.

When you leave God behind, you can be open to all kinds of darkness. There are real dangers in the occult and the Church warns about those.

The Church of England is engaged at all levels in activities which encourage young people to consider the unique claims of the Christian faith.

A recent Tearfund survey suggested that 16 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds in the U.K. attend church on an occasional or regular basis and that they are more likely than older people to accept an invitation to church, which should be an encouragement to mission.

My book, Mixing it up with Harry Potter, has been published by Church House Publishing, the Church of England's official publisher. In it, we explore how church youth groups could use Harry Potter as a launch pad for exploring Christian themes.

From theological concepts such as sacrifice and mercy, to everyday issues such as fear and boasting, each of the 12 sessions introduces a short clip from one of the Harry Potter films to provide a basis for that hour's discussions and activities.

The sessions include Bible verses that present the Christian perspective on the theme, and prayer activities drawing on the topic.

I know that some Christians have expressed concerns over the influence of Harry Potter, but I believe that engaging with the phenomenal success of the series is more productive than criticizing it from the sidelines.

The sessions my book suggest draw parallels between events in the world of Harry and his friends, and the world in which we are seeking to proclaim the gospel to young people.

The magic in the books is simply part of the magic that J. K. Rowling has created, in the same way that magic is part of the world of Christian writers such as C. S. Lewis.

Jennifer A. Harris, Anglican university professor:

Anglican Christians derive their faith from Scripture, tradition, and reasoned reflection on experience. These three authoritative sources can sometime be in tension with each other, but the tradition has muddled through for hundreds of years.

Scripture — that is, the Christian Bible (including the Old and New Testaments) — is clear in its condemnation of magical practice. Concern about magic in the Bible is directed primarily at the perceived usurpation of divine power over creation, something impossible, given God's transcending power.

Tradition and experience have, generally speaking, maintained this prohibition on magic, divination, and so forth.

While some Christians have rejected the Harry Potter books on the basis that they seem to promote magic, many Anglicans have accepted them in the spirit with which they were written — i.e., as stories that deal with important themes such as vocation, sacrificial death, and the redemptive power of love.

J. K. Rowling herself has said that her Christian faith has informed both the content and structure of the books, and she is deeply indebted to Anglican author C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia for her approach to embedding Christian themes in a mythical tale.

Recently, church leaders in England have proposed using the series as the basis of a curriculum meant to teach children about the Christian faith. I suspect that this practice is being undertaken in Anglican churches in North America too.

In general, the Anglican tradition reflects the habit of many mainstream Christian denominations by accommodating developments in culture that do not oppose the spirit of the Christian tradition, and which may benefit the Church, its members, and its mission.

But this welcoming approach does not tell the whole story (indeed, Anglicans rarely agree completely on any topic). There are Anglicans who are concerned about a number of elements in the books, including but not limited to the positive presentation of magic.

Jim Sheppard, Executive Editor, globeandmail.com: Thanks again to all of you for participating today in this online debate and for answering questions from our readers.

One of the main themes that runs through most of the questions submitted is this: Why does it appear that the various religions, faiths, churches are more concerned about the Harry Potter series than other books and movies that include blatantly offensive, violent or pornographic themes? Is it simply the sheer popularly of Ms. Rowling's works? Or is it something about the subject of magic itself?

Jennifer A. Harris: First, I would dispute the claim that religious people are not concerned with offensive, violent and pornographic content in today's mass media.

These protests, some of which I grant are misguided, simply don't attract much general attention.

Given the nature of popular news media, it is dramatic events — like the Southern Baptists' boycott of Disney or (more germane to our discussion) a rally in which Harry Potter books were burned some years back — that get our attention.

The sustained and often well-reasoned critique of the sexualisation of youth culture, for example, tends to fall on deaf ears.

Second, the sheer popularity of the books is an extraordinary phenomenon. As we read in The Globe last weekend, Rowling has sold well over 300 million copies of the books. So this is clearly a factor in the reaction to the series. That these books are meant for children is another factor in the concerns of some people, even those who appreciate them.

We forget that books that appear to be beloved of the religious communities, e.g. the Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings, were controversial in their day too.

The use of fantasy, even when tinged with religious themes, raises questions about the imagination, which is a most important faculty. Who colonizes the imagination and with what has troubled parents and other authorities for centuries. This is not a bad thing, unless it becomes totalitarian. And the answer to fears about thought police is not to allow children to read anything.

Rowling herself has noted that the readers of her books should be Harry's age: that is, one should be 11 years old before starting the series. By this, she acknowledges that children need to be ready even for her books, let alone others.

Lorna Dueck: The discussion is occurring because the popularity of the Potter phenomena is focused on children.

The timeless subjects of magic, character development and the inner struggle between good and evil has never seen this kind of marketing appeal.

There's much bewilderment as to why Christian teaching is trying to get involved in this cultural development, and I think it's because the stories have both moral themes, and the marketing of witchcraft around them. Both are areas that concern the human soul, and the Church can't resist.

Rabbi Ed Elkin: Since I don't count myself among those who are "concerned" about Harry Potter, this one is a little difficult for me to answer.

In the context of all the books, films, video games, music, etc. out there in our popular culture — so many of which do promote violence and exploitation and hatred — Harry Potter does not even begin to approach my "worry list."

It has drawn all this attention because of its phenomenal popularity. Since so many people are "into" it, the series provides a convenient opportunity for us as a society to discuss the deeper issues that concern us.

Stories are always good vehicles for helping us to think through such issues, and since the Harry Potter stories are ones that lots and lots of us have read, we can talk about those issues together using the stories as a starting point for discussion.

For example, the way in which Harry moves from his wizard world to the Muggle world exemplifies for many people the challenge of occupying different and parallel worlds which often have little knowledge or understanding of each other — whether those worlds be work life and home life, a particular religious/ethnic community and the wider society, or whatever.

That is one among many themes which a discussion of Harry Potter might occasion.

In a more biblically literate society, these kinds of conversations might occur about narratives and laws in the Bible. I, for one, think the result of that would be more rewarding because the source is so much richer.

I devote my life to bringing people closer to that source. But it never has been, and never will be the only source.

So I say if the Harry Potter stories can occasion such discussions, then all to the good.

Jasmine Francis, Halifax: I would like to ask the panel members if they have read the books or watched the movies? And, if any of the panel members are parents, have you read the books or watched the movies with your children? And, if you did that, how did you use that as a teaching experience for your children?

Lorna Dueck: Jasmine, I have watched the movies but not read the books. When life slows down, I do want to read them.

I did take my children to one of the movies and we talked about what the Bible says about witchcraft and demons. But the Potter story didn't seem to appeal to them and I got off easy not having to make it a big deal in our home. Now, as young adults, my children aren't interested in the series.

But, I will say the current movie was scary to me because of the imaginative way evil spirits were depicted.

I found the battle going on in Harry's mind and the evil that tortured him to be a frightening and clever plot development, but one that I wouldn't want to expose a child to without being able to debrief with them after.

If I had taken a child with me, I would say to them: "Do you think your mind can fight like that? Has it ever done that to you? What will help you decide what to do when good and bad are fighting in your mind?"

There are many spiritual points to discuss from the movie with our children.

Jennifer A. Harris: I have read the books and seen three of the five films. I love the books and enjoyed the films.

While I don't have children, I can say, as a university instructor, that the books have served my students well in conversation about values, vocation, service, love, and redemption. In my course on Christianity and popular culture, we discuss the potential and the problems of the books.

Certainly, they are not flawless, but they are enormously engaging, and, as the series has developed, the themes of interest to me are becoming more important. I think that the redemptive power of love, which has been a thread running through all of the books, took centre stage in the sixth volume (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), and I expect that it will be essential to the resolution of the series.

There are numerous resources available which might help parents negotiate their ways through these books. Perhaps the most thoughtful are books by Connie Neal (What's a Christian to do with Harry Potter? and The Gospel according to Harry Potter) and John Granger (Looking for God in Harry Potter).

Rabbi Ed Elkin: I have read all the books and I've seen all the movies.

My 14-year-old daughter has likewise. I don't think it affected her more than on the level of a good story and a common cultural experience to talk about with her peers.

But it did occasion some discussion about the experience of feeling "different."

Owen Smith: As a youth worker, I am very much in touch with the culture in which the young people are immersed, and that's exactly how I began on the journey of writing Mixing it up with Harry Potter.

When the first book came out, I was keen to find out what all the fuss was about. I read it and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a well-told story with a good moral plot.

As the books continued to be released, and then the films were produced, I continued to follow the progress of Harry and his friends, both in print and on screen.

About 2½ years ago I became consious of a gap in the work our church was doing. We were leaving out our 9-11 year olds. As I looked around for material to use with them, I couldn't find anything that really suited the young people I was working with, so I went back the drawing board and asked them what they were "in to."

Amongst other things, Harry Potter came out as a consistent answer. The themes present within the books and films made it an obvious choice to use as the starting point for material of this sort.

Jason Schmidt, Saskatoon: If, as some commentators have argued, the Harry Potter series contains elements of basic Christian/Jewish teaching in the same way as Narnia or even J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, which had a clear God and a clear Devil, then I must say that I find those traditional religious influences more difficult to find in Potter. Perhaps the panel could elaborate for me?

Rabbi Ed Elkin: As I wrote in my essay, there has since biblical days been a traditional Jewish theological rejection of magic and sorcery. So on that level I agree with you — the whole premise of the book seems to conflict with Jewish teachings.

However, if we zoom out a little bit, we might see religious influence in the very idea of a reality that exists around us that is not the obvious reality of our every-day lives, but rather something very different.

The HP stories posit such a reality in the existence of a wizard world to which most of us Muggles are completely oblivious. Religion posits such an alternate/parallel reality in its faith in a God whom we can't see or hear, but whose presence many of us nevertheless feel.

Perhaps that's a connection, although in a way, all literature creates an alternative reality, whether filled with magical creatures, or more "normal" characters created by the author.

Jennifer A. Harris: While Rowling is deeply influenced by Lewis, her approach to the presentation of Christian themes has been less obvious and, some might argue, less Christian. As you note, the universe of Hogwarts has no clear God or Devil, despite the obvious presence of benign and malicious forces. I would say that Rowling's point is not the sub-creation we witness in The Lord of the Rings wherein every element of a world is created for the purpose of the narrative. Instead, Rowling, situates the world of Hogwart's alongside the world of the Muggles — our own world — and is, therefore, not intending the presence or absence of anything we see around us.

More important, I think that Rowling brings her readers into a tighter focus on the travails of living in a world beset with good and evil. Thus, she focuses on the human experience of God and Devil (good and evil), rather than on the nature of divinity. Her books reflect in great detail on the power of love, the call to service, the importance of forgiveness, the nature of self-sacrifice, and so forth. These are deeply religious themes. She also includes characters that represent, if you will, elements of the Christian story. For example, Dumbledore has been a father figure of great power and wisdom, sort of like God. That is was killed at the end of the sixth book does not negate this fact (I suspect that he may be back in the final volume). Harry himself has been compared to other Christ figures in popular culture: living a life set apart from those around him, confronting enormous evil protected (we are told) by the even greater power of the love that saved his life as a baby.

By saying that Rowling is being "less Christian" in her presentation, I mean that she is equally enthralled by the popular cultural adaptations of the Christian story (of love triumphing even over death), as she is by the Gospel itself. Only with the final volume will be see if grace place any role in the final conquest of Voldemort (as grace saved Frodo in spite of his failure to save himself at the end of The Lord of the Rings).

Owen Smith: I agree with you, Jason. While themes of purpose, sacrifice and redemption can be detected, I'm not sure that much of the narrative of the series has an immediately obvious anchor in Christian theology.

It should be noted that J.K. Rowling has never accepted that explicitly Christian themes or messages exist within the plots of her stories.

It's nearly always possible to find parallels between any good story about good and evil and the message of the Bible.

In my own book, I simply try to draw parallels between the events Rowling writes about as Harry Potter's world, and the real context in which young people today find themselves.

In short, I try and make Christian themes easier to discuss and understand by using scenarios within the Harry Potter series as a cultural reference point with which children can readily connect.

Lorna Dueck: Jason, a clear God, and a clear Devil is why Christian belief is interested in the Potter series, and I agree that I can't find the truth of humanity's relationship with God in this Potter tale.

I believe it's incorrect to take the Potter appeal and bring it into church games and costume parties because God condemns sorcery.

Teaching and discussion from book and film points is appropriate and it's a good opportunity to discuss theology with young people who have to make their own choices about God's invitation on their life.

D.A.: I feel incredibly nerdy pointing this out, but redemption is a major theme in the series, and even a casual reader would have trouble avoiding that fact.

The relationship between Snape, Harry and Dumbledore is the most interesting in the series, and revolves entirely around the still-open question of whether Snape has truly redeemed himself. Granted, the penultimate book ended with Snape evidently damning himself. Snape has appeared evil but has, in reality, been working with Dumbledore to protect Harry in every one one of the books and movies that I've either seen or read. The open question of Snape's redemption is actually one of the biggest that the final book promises to resolve, and is a great deal more interesting than the matter of how Voldemort is done away with. (For those with a casual knowledge of the series: Yes, Snape did something outright evil in the second-to-last book, but his doing so prevented an innocent child from having to commit the same act.)

And yes, Voldemort appears beyond redemption — but he is wilfully so. It is obvious that he will not be redeemed, but only because of his place in the narrative. There is no equivalent in the series to the Christian Satan, who is supernaturally denied the chance of redemption because that state is a special one reserved for humans and unavailable to fallen spirits.

I'm pretty sure that not even God can purge the nerdiness from my soul after having written that. I guess I'll leave it to the theologians to debate that matter. [Can you comment?]

Owen Smith: Redemption is a hard issue. As Christians, we are told that no one is beyond redemption, that God's grace means that forgiveness is available to all if they repent.

Where that leaves Snape I don't know. But whatever happens in the final installment of the saga, it will definately provide a great springboard to engage with one of the most important tenets of Christianity — that Jesus's death on the cross means that no one is beyond saving

Rabbi Ed Elkin: From one nerd to another . . . that's an interesting take on Snape. He is among the more interesting characters, although I had always thought of him as being interesting only because it hasn't been revealed yet whether he is actually bad, as Harry experiences him, or actually good.

I hadn't thought of him in the context of redemption, in the sense of moving from bad to good and developing morally as the story progresses.

Maybe that kind of development will be revealed in the last book. But if what's revealed is only whether all along he was actually good, or actually bad, then I still don't see him as modeling the possibility for change and growth, certainly an important teaching of my tradition.

Lorna Dueck: So what is redemption? How does it happen? Could it be real? If you move redemption from the world of fantasy to fact, what occurs?

That's the kind of question being wonderfully explored through the Potter series when churches bring it into discussion. A sincere thank you to Ms. Rowlings is needed for giving us a chance to do this.

Jennifer A. Harris: At the risk of revealing my own nerdiness, I am so pleased that you raise the theme of redemption (which, as I note above, is an important thread throughout the series) and Snape. It is with Snape that I think Rowling has displayed her attention to recent developments in popular representations of the Christian tradition. I believe that Snape represents Judas: not the biblical Judas condemned for all time for betraying Jesus then killing himself, but the Judas of Jesus Christ Superstar or The Last Temptation of Christ, the sympathetic obedient one, who willing condemns himself to carry forward the story. I suspect that, as you suggest, the redemption of Snape will be an important part of the final book.

Unlike you, I believe that Voldemort will be "saved" in some fashion. Perhaps his salvation will be like that of Darth Vader in the final episode of Star Wars, when he accepts his responsibility for the evil he has done (then dies). Or, maybe his redemption will come as it did for Smeagol / Golem in LOTR: by committing one final act of evil that in effect dooms evil itself (then dies). The connection between Harry and Voldemort has grown dramatically in the past few volumes; the presence or absence of love in their lives will, I suspect, be the only thing that distinguishes them. If love is truly to win out, then, I believe, even Voldemort will participate in redemption. I could be quite wrong on this point, and would be happily thus. But I think that Ms Rowling has shown us her hand already.

Eric Tervit, Orangeville, Ont.: If any religion or faith feels the need to allow or disallow others from forming their own opinion on a fictional character, then it is overreacting. If people truly believe in their faith, they will continue to believe and not change their belief based on what is popular.

I see Harry as a kid growing up and dealing with decisions that every kid has to make — nothing more, nothing less. The whole magic thing just helps to keep the story interesting, maybe the kid in all of us still wants to believe in a little magic, and simply enjoy a good story.

Perhaps those casting the stones at Harry Potter should be worried about their own glass houses.

Lorna Dueck: Eric, because we are a community, a world which affects one another, and cares for each other, it's wrong to insist on privatization of beliefs.

Discussion does not mean condemnation, it means illumination of our teachings, it means an informing of our mind and will, and a continued ebb and flow of free choice.

To simply allow the media machine to be the educator, imaginer, and creator of ideas and not fling open the discussion that artists like Rowlings would hope to inspire, would not only be a waste, but a loss of our ability to love each other.

Rabbi Ed Elkin: I haven't cast any stones at Harry myself, so I think my own glass house is still intact for now.

But I do think it's okay for religious thinkers and figures to comment on cultural phenomena, including fictional characters who have caught the imagination of large numbers of people.

These religious thinkers and leaders can share their perspective, others can share theirs, and we can all give thanks that we live in a free society where such free-wheeling discussion and open debates can happen without fear.

Sadly, that is certainly not true in many places in the world today, where religious coercion stifles debate — something that is bad for society, and bad for religion too

Owen Smith: J.K. Rowling writes good stories, plain and simple

I agree with Eric and would add that we shouldn't underestimate the power of a fictional character to act as a role model for childen as they face every-day decisions in their lives.

We all remember wanting to be like Spiderman, or Michael Knight in Knight Rider, or one of the Railway Children

By using Harry's dilemmas as a starting point for discussions with our own children, we are not suggesting that they take a particular view of the stories or project any meaning that is not intended by the author.

We're not suggesting they think like Harry. Rather, we are helping give them some of the resources to think like Jesus.

We are simply offering options to youth leaders who want to use popular culture as a launch pad for exploring faith with young people.

Jennifer A. Harris: I agree with some points made here.

The lack of imagination some people have displayed in their approach to Harry Potter has been alarming. The fear we see manifest in some religious communities is rooted, in part, in the fears of larger society: violence, sexuality, ecological degradation, etc.

These fears are compounded, of course, by an approach to reading that does not aid the imagination. I mean by this the tendency in more conservative streams of the Christian tradition, for example, to read the Bible literally. This literal approach to Scripture is a recent trend, when considered in the light of the 2,000-year Christian tradition. Literal interpretation has been favoured over metaphorical approaches for only about 150 years. This approach to the biblical text appears to affect other forms of textual engagement.

Thus the use of magic in Harry Potter is seen at the surface level as the promotion of evil, rather than a metaphor or other literary device.

Ms. Rowling has stated the importance of her Christian faith in constructing these stories. So I think that we are looking at meaning that goes deeper than stories about childhood.

Harry is cast in the mold of a hero or saint, and his task is overcoming evil in the world. While this may be what being an adolescent fells like, I think that the books are doing something deeply moral, as well as merely entertaining.