United Kingdom: A teaching assistant who quit her job after refusing to let a child read from a Harry Potter book has lost her case for religious discrimination. Some interesting details of the case have emerged, including her strange beliefs about the books and their author.
She also said author JK Rowling was a 'real witch' and hearing the seven-year-old girl reading out spells from the story would leave her cursed...
She said:I said this because it is known that the subject of the Harry Potter books is white magic. The main character himself is a wizard who casts spells and uses the supernatural in order to triumph in various plots.
I do not believe that there can be such a thing as a mild form of witchcraft as the Holy Bible gives express instructions against some of the practices contained in the book and I therefore objected to the child reading this book to me. It would compromise my religious beliefs.
The tribunal also found that her other claims were not true, and that she had lied about the assistant headmaster insulting the Bible to her, and belittling her faith.
Harry Potter Teacher Loses Tribunal Claim—Life Style Extra, 9th June 2007; see also Teaching assistant wants compensation for her own bias—Pagan Prattle, 8th June 2007.
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