The seven Harry Potter books by JK Rowling might have played a significant role in President Barack Obama's 2008 election victory, a new study claims.
The Millennials -- people born after 1980 -- were brainwashed by the Harry Potter books, which chronicled the life of a young wizard and his friends, Anthony Gierzynski, a University of Vermont political science professor, said in his study.
"The lessons fans internalized about tolerance, diversity, violence, torture, skepticism and authority made the Democratic Party and Barack Obama more appealing to fans of 'Harry Potter' in the current political environment," Gierzynski said, according to The College Fix.
The fantasy series helped Americans develop a better understanding of diversity and instilled a positive attitude towards tolerance, his research found.
For instance, Voldemort, the villain in the book series, is obsessed with a pure bloodline and he looks down upon half-wizards and non-wizards, who are known as mudbloods or muggles respectively. On the other hand, Potter is seen as someone who champions for the cause of outcasts.
The professor based his conclusion after interviewing more than 1,000 college students from seven universities across the nation, and his findings were recently published in a book titled "Harry Potter and the Millennials: Research Methods and the Politics of the Muggle Generation."
About 60 percent of the people who took part in the survey and had read Rowling's fantasy book series said they voted for Obama in 2008, and an 83 percent of them expressed displeasure at the Bush administration.
Although Gierzynski said Potter's ideologies were more in tune with that of the Democrats, he refused to give a straight answer when questioned of Voldermort's political leanings.
However, he admitted that the notions in the book "tend to line up with certain sides in the current climate," The College Fix reported.
"Attitudes in opposition to the use of violence, torture and deadly force came to be associated with the Democrats at the end of the Bush years, mainly in opposition to Bush administration policies and failures in these areas," he said.
"The opposition to equal marital rights for same-sex couples and immigration reform by the Republicans put those who support political tolerance… and those who are more accepting of diversity on the side of the Democrats."
Meanwhile, Gierzynski has a piece of advice for Republicans to increase their voter base.
"Republicans could win back some Millennial Harry Potter fans if they move away from the far right side of their party," he told The College Fix.
