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Okay, I had to research this for the “better than thou” ladies in my homeschool group. Anyone who thinks that HP is evil has either never read the books or only read parts.

Let’s start here.

Anyone who has read the books knows two things.

1. The ability to perform magic is a talent in this fiction. You either have it or you don’t. It isn’t learned just refined. One does not get it from the devil nor is “Black Magic” allowed. This is made clear in the “unforgivable curses” which will lead to tortured jail time.

2. There is a clear difference between good and evil in these works.

It’s hard for me to ban the Harry Potter series when there are witches and wizards in all sorts of classic children’s and young literature. Examples include: The Chronicles of
Narnia, The Lord of Rings Trilogy (and The Hobbit), and even The Wizard of Oz.

The Wizard of Oz has good witches and bad witches. I haven’t heard Chistians talking about that.

Plato, Aristotle, Homer, and many more have been read in Classical Curriculum for years. None of these were Christian - all of them contain matter which is incompatible with Christianity in any form.

I look to Catholic guides for approval of the HP series. In 2001, Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, wrote on the Harry Potter series in his regular column in The Sunday Telegraph. In his columns, he praised the books for displaying values that are “deeply compatible with Christianity”. In his book Be Not Afraid, Pell praised the books as having a “good dose of moral truth” and for being “a good yarn.”
Along with that, In 2003, Father Peter Fleetwood, a priest incardinated in the Archdiocese of Liverpool at the time serving as an official of the Pontifical Council for Culture, made comments supportive of the novels during a press conference announcing the release of Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life—A Christian reflection on the “New Age”. In response to a question asking if the magic presented in the Harry Potter series should be considered in the same light as some New Age practices warned against in the document, Fleetwood stated, “If I have understood well the intentions of Harry Potter’s author, they help children to see the difference between good and evil. And she is very clear on this”. He added that Rowling is “Christian by conviction, is Christian in her mode of living, even in her way of writing”

For the Catholics the film adaptations, the Office for Film and Broadcasting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has rated each film “A-II”, meaning the content is suitable for adults and adolescents and was not found to be morally offensive.

Good advice is found in the Scriptures:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians
4:6-7).
The Bible tells us that God cares about what happens to us, and so we should give all of our worries to Him (1 Peter 5:7).

Parents have the responsibility to not only teach their children about the virtues that please God, but also about what they are up against. (Ephesians 6:12).

If a child has good guiding parents, a personal relationship with God, and is able to fully discern between what is good and bad according to God’s standards, reading Harry Potter books or watching the movies can be entertainment, but also can empower parents to raise Christian thinkers.

Hope this helps.