Since the first Harry Potter novel was published in 1997, poor Harry has been the target of conservative Christians who burned his books and accused the bespectacled wizard of opening a door to the occult in youthful minds.
But now, Harry is getting some backing from surprising sources, including a new book that compares the boy wizard to Jesus Christ.
The Vatican entered the debate last month at a conference on the New Age movement when Rev. Peter Fleetwood, a former official of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said: "The author, J.K. Rowling, is a Christian by conviction in her way of living and in her writing.
"I don't see the least problem in the Harry Potter films."
A film reviewer for the U.S. Catholic bishops' Web site has also told parents: "Harry Potter is so obviously innocuous fantasy that its fiction is easily distinguishable from real life. Harry uses his 'magical powers' for good to fight evil."
Now, a Protestant minister and academic whose specialty is the theological aspects of contemporary literature have put the final seal of approval on Harry. Rev. John Killinger says Harry is not a devil or a witch, but a Christ-like figure.
In a learned new book, God, The Devil and Harry Potter, he says the four Harry Potter novels are not only among the best reads of all time, but also "a modern interpretation of the gospel."
Rev. Killinger says there are many similarities between the lives of Harry and Christ. Just as Herod tried to slay the infant Jesus, so the evil Lord Voldemort attempts to kill Harry at birth. And just as Jesus conquered death in his final encounter with evil at the cross, Harry triumphs in the fight over the Sorcerer's Stone and in the cemetery in the climax of the fourth novel, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Like Christ, Harry is also ready to sacrifice his life for others. He jumps on the back of a troll and thrusts a wand up its nostril to rescue his friend Hermione. He drives off a large black snake to rescue Justin, another fellow student.
Rev. Killinger says the Potter mythology grows out of the Christian understanding of life and the universe and would have been unthinkable without it. Ms. Rowling has a university degree in French and classics, and Rev. Killinger says that also shows in her writing. Hogwarts, the school for young wizards, he says, is a kind of Olympus, where the headmaster, Dumbledore, is Zeus and Professor Minerva McGonagall is Athena. Allusions to Greek and Latin phrases are also found throughout the books, and so are bits and pieces of Greek, Persian, Egyptian and Roman mythologies.
"I could easily say, in the words of the old popular song, 'I'm just wild about Harry," writes Rev. Killinger.
Ms. Rowling belongs to the Church of Scotland and has said she attends somewhat regularly, but is not big on "religion as rules."
Last year, she told a reporter the fact she is a Christian "seems to offend the religious right far worse than if I said I thought there was no God. Every time I've been asked if I believe in God, I've said 'yes', because I do.
"But no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that and I have to say that does suit me. If I talk too freely about that, I think the intelligent reader -- whether 10 or 60 -- will be able to guess what is coming in the books," she said
In 2001, Ms. Rowling surpassed John Grisham, and became the best-selling author in the world. Her four books have sold 116 million copies and been translated into 47 languages, and the two Harry Potter movies to date have earned more than $577 million.