Sunday Times 2
Does reading Harry Potter make you more tolerant?
Young people who have read the Harry Potter books are less likely to discriminate against minority groups, a new study claims.
Researchers believe that people who recognise the main characters’ battle against evil Lord Voldemort are more likely to tolerate minority groups such as homosexuals and refugees.
They are most likely to show empathy towards immigrants and refugees if they strongly identify with the character Harry Potter, who stands up for small groups of people and creatures throughout the story.
Scientists believe that people who identify with Harry Potter's battle against evil Lord Voldemort (pictured right) are more likely to tolerate minority groups such as homosexuals, immigrants and refugees in real life (Reuters)
Researchers from three Italian universities and the University of Greenwich in London, surveyed 34 Italian school children in year five of primary school to look at their attitudes towards immigrants, Medical Daily reported.
They then read them sections of the Harry Potter books over six weeks that focus on the parts to do with prejudice, such as the Death Eaters’ negative attitude to ‘muggles’ such as Hermione who they do not consider pure blood wizards.
Much of the series of novels centres around the young wizards’ quests to stand up for minority groups, whether they are house elves kept as servants or persecuted ‘mud-blood’ wizards.
They found that following the readings, the children showed more empathy towards immigrants and those who were most sympathetic, strongly identified with the protagonist, Harry Potter.
Their study says that the younger children responded to Harry Potter’s positive attitudes towards ‘stigmatised fantastic groups,’ leading the experts to conclude that the children improved their attitudes to gay people and immigrants.
In a second survey, the social scientists found that two groups of college students in the UK and Italy also altered their attitudes towards political refugees having read excerpts of the books.
The scientists believe that ‘reading the novels can potentially tackle actual prejudice reduction,’ even though the books’ author, J.K. Rowling insisted that she did not write them with that specific intention in mind.
‘The Potter books in general are a prolonged argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to bigotry,’ J.K. Rowling is quoted as saying in the book Harry Potter’s Bookshelf, by John Granger.
© Daily Mail, London