More know Potter than Left Behind or Jabez

Christian Century, Nov 14, 2001

Americans in general are much more aware of the popular Harry Potter book series than two best-selling books that reflect conservative evangelical views--the Left Behind series and The Prayer of Jabez, according to a Barna Research survey.

More than two-thirds of all adults (69 percent) say they have heard of the Harry Potter books by British author J. K. Rowling, and for born-again Christians the figure is 72 percent. The four books in the fictional series, sometimes the target of evangelical critics for their occult fantasies, have sold an estimated 24 million copies.

But the "last days"--themed Left Behind novels, co-written by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, have sold more than 45 million copies of the eight existing volumes and special versions for younger readers. The ninth installment was published on October 30. Despite setting publishing records, only 24 percent of all adults and 42 percent of born-again Christians were aware of the books in a nationwide random poll of 1,003 adults in May.

Bruce Wilkinson's small book The Prayer of Jabez has hit sales above 5 million copies in less than two years, but the Barna poll found that only 13 percent of all adults have heard of it. One of every five born-again Christians were aware of it, the survey found. "The actual sales figures do not parallel consumer awareness," noted survey director George Barna.

"All three product lines have benefited from strong word-of-mouth promotion within their respective communities," he said. Although Dowling's books, geared to young readers, does not have any apparent ideological audience, Barna's survey found that the Harry Potter books were best known among people under 50, whites, women and adults living along the East and West coasts.

The polling company, which serves primarily evangelical clients, also found that only 9 percent of all adults had read at least one of the Left Behind books. The majority of those readers were born-again Christians, Barna said. But he concluded that the apocalyptic, end-times series has represented "one of the most widely experienced religious teaching or evangelistic tools" among what he called "nonbelievers"--exceeding the reach of most television and radio ministries.

--RNS