I’ve heard some people place a lot of the responsibility for Harry Potter becoming popular at the altar of the US Christian Right. Considering their wealth, reach and influence it seems plausible to me!
What’s your recollection of that era?
I wouldn’t say it played a large role in publicizing or promoting the book. The uptight “OMG it’s Satan” people reacted to the series after it became popular, in the same way they had a little moral panic over D&D in the 80s, or the recurring one about Halloween. Not mainstream by any means.
I’m not from the US, so that does not apply.
It became popular here (talking about the first book before the others were written) because it was a well written story.
It got a lot of people, both adults and kids, who did not normally read for pleasure to read it. I don’t remember hearing much about the religious stuff in the USA but I think part of its success was that people who didn’t read much read it and liked it.
