The Harry Potter series isn’t exactly a stranger to being controversial according to religious groups. Now a Catholic school in Tennessee has taken it upon themselves to ban the book series from their classes. According to a pastor, the fictional books utilize “actual curses and spells,” which could be considered “a possible threat” to their beliefs.
Rev. Dan Reehil, a member of the faculty at St. Edward Catholic School in Nashville, devised an email to teachers about the books. He states that they “present magic as both good and evil, which is not true, but in fact a clever deception.”
“The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text,” he wrote in his message. “I have consulted several exorcists, both in the United States and in Rome, and they have recommended removing the books from circulation.”
He goes on to explain in which context the fictional spells are potentially harmful to their school.
He explains that the books “glorify acts of divination; of conjuring the dead, of casting spells among other acts that are an offense to the virtue of religion — to the love and respect we owe to God alone,” Reehil wrote, adding: “Many reading these books could be persuaded to believe these acts are perfectly fine, even good or spiritually healthy.”
He finished up his statements by saying that books “which present a possible threat to our faith will not be promoted by our church or school.”
It’s definitely a fascinating stance against the books considering how well-accepted they are in pop culture. Especially when you take into account that the spells in the books are nothing but made up words and meanings. Nevertheless, in the end, it probably only helps the Harry Potter franchise’s publicity – so good for them.
Source: FoxNews