by Meredith Railton

If you frequent Harry Potter fan sites, then you probably know who Laura Mallory is. But in case you haven’t heard of her, here’s the brief scoop: she’s tried to have the Harry Potter books removed from school libraries because she believes the series encourages kids to delve into witchcraft. We in the Harry Potter fandom have really taken the mickey out of her in various forums, podcasts, and message boards for being totally deluded about the message of the books due to not even having read them, but the truth of the matter is that Laura Mallory is not alone in the slightest – there is a surprising number of people who agree with her.

But why? As hardcore Potterphiles, it can be hard to understand where these people come from. Personally, I have a whole family of relatives who are very, very, very, very Christian who share the same view as Laura Mallory. I had an argument with one of my cousins on the subject a few months ago, and I now have a better understanding about their view on Harry Potter. And honestly, I think they’re even more insane now then I did before said argument.

It’s important to point out first that most of those who feel this way about Harry Potter have not read the books and have no intention of reading them.

You see, these anti-Potters hold that the Harry Potter series is a glorification of the occult. They have absolutely no problem with the magic in books like Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia, because they’re often seen as allegories to Christianity. But because J. K. Rowling portrayed magic in a non-allegorical manner, she has created books that are sinful and affronts to Christianity. Even though she clearly portrays Dark Magic in an awful light, she portrays the overall magical aspects of the series in a positive light. The anti-Potters argue that this will cause readers to believe that witchcraft can be good as opposed to sinful, as the Bible preaches.

I can respect that they think magic is sinful, because according the Bible it is sinful and thus practicing it in real life would be considered an affront to God. However, what these people fail to grasp is that these are books; a form of entertainment. It is possible to get enjoyment out of reading books that include magic and still be a Christian because – brace yourselves – magic isn’t real. They refuse to believe that anyone can adequately differentiate between a made-up world and the real world; one cannot like the Harry Potter books and recognize that they’re a work of fiction and that real-life witchcraft is black as sin. They are too stuck up on their moral high-horse to believe that anyone can be secure enough in their religious beliefs (for those who have them) to tell the difference.

As Hagrid would say, it’s codswallop. I absolutely love the Harry Potter series (obviously). The Harry Potter books have witchcraft in them. Harry Potter is a work of fiction. I don’t believe magic exists in real life. According to the Bible, all witchcraft is sinful. I can recognize all of that and yet, according to them, somehow still be sinning by liking the Harry Potter series.

I love my cousins dearly, but they’re really off the mark about this. I’ve gotten so much crap from them about my love for Harry Potter, and it’s not right. And I don’t think it’s very Christlike to assume that I or anyone else who enjoys Harry Potter is too stupid to know the difference between fiction and real life.