By Cedric Pulford

[First published January 9 2002 by Observer News Service. Copyright Pulford Media Ltd. This article may not be reprinted or distributed either electronically or on hard copy without permission]

ONE GROUP of people are specially unenthused by magical sorting hats, aerial games of Quidditch, invisible trains leaving from impossible locations (Platform 9 3/4) and the other outpourings of the Harry Potter phenomenon: many committed Christians fear that the exploits of the schoolboy wizard lead children into an unhealthy interest in the occult.

The trouble with Harry began in 1997 with the publication of the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and has been smouldering ever since.

Now the Harry doubters may have to think again. He has won powerful theological support from the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, who is the leader of the world's 70 million Anglicans.

In a New Year message he called the film of The Philosopher's Stone "great fun" and praised Harry Potter for demonstrating morality in action.

"Like many people, I found the Harry Potter film great fun," said Dr Carey. "But like most good fantasies, it also asks some very real questions, including questions about the true source of power in our lives. At one point, young Harry is told: 'There is no good and evil. There is only power and those too weak to seek it'. Well, as Harry goes on to prove, that's nonsense." If the film (known in some countries as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) is helping the rehabilitation of Harry, there is a way to go.

Harry Potter books have been banned from schools. Canterbury Cathedral, the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion, fearful of the effect on some Christians, refused to allow scenes for the film to be shot there. Another English Anglican cathedral - Gloucester - took a broader view and now doubles as Hogwarts Academy in the film.

One of 27 items of Harry merchandise offered by Hamleys, the famous London toy store, is a book of spells. That they are unlikely to work is for the Christian opponents not the point. Hard as it is for those outside church circles to understand, the concern is real.

In response to the film, Britain's Evangelical Alliance issued a carefully balanced statement which was most significant for what it did not say: the strictly biblical organisation did not condemn Harry as many of its one million members would have liked.

John Smith, the UK director, said "As Christians we should avoid the knee jerk reaction of rejecting this piece of fantasy literature. Neither should we ignore the potential dangers of the stories as an unintended apologetic for the occult, particularly among children."

He described some of the Harry Potter toys and games as an even greater concern because they tended to "trivialise the occult" and might "encourage children to explore the type of magic which goes beyond the harmless card trick".

Smith said J.K. Rowling's work stood alongside accepted fantasy classics by J.R.R. Tolkien - the source of another current film, The Lord of the Rings (part one) - and the Christian author of the Narnia novels, C.S. Lewis.

He added: "Christians must look carefully at the burgeoning interest in the supernatural which characterises Harry Potter's world. For too long we have been embarrassed to give the supernatural core of the Gospel its central place in our proclamation and practice."

Evangelical clergyman Philip Plyming, the author of Harry Potter and the Meaning of Life (Grove Books), says Rowling's four books are not occult propaganda and argues that key themes - transformation of character, choices, good and evil, and relationships with both living and dead - are readily interpretable in Christian terms.

Plyming, who is a parish minister in Hampshire, southern England, said in an interview: "The stories are really about character, friendship and the choices we make between good and evil. The same trigger words are used as with astrology and Tarot cards, but go below the surface and the books are not about witchcraft at all."

He declined to see an unacknowledged Christian spirituality at work in Rowling's writing. "Once you talk about unconscious leanings you're onto a sticky wicket," he explained. "I'm not trying to baptise Harry Potter but to explain him in his own terms."

One way is to ask the author. According to the Catholic News Service, J.K. Rowling said during a book tour of the United States: "I believe in God, not magic. I don't think children will be seriously disappointed to hear that I don't believe in magic." As for Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross, frustrated commuters on Britain's creaky railways know that trains can be as hard to find at the real platforms.

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