Harry Potter by Scholastic – the American publisher of the books – as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", after Rowling had received US$105,000 for the American rights – a record amount for a children's book by an unknown author. Fearing that American readers would not associate the word "philosopher" with magic (although the Philosopher's Stone is an ancient tradition in alchemy), Scholastic insisted that the book be given the title "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" for the American market. The second book, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", was originally published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and
Religious debates over the Harry Potter series used in the books to describe non-magical humans, to describe Christians without imagination. "Christianity Today" published an editorial in favour of the books in January 2000, calling the series a "Book of Virtues" and averring that although "<nowiki>m</nowiki>odern witchcraft is indeed an ensnaring, seductive false religion that we must protect our children from," this does not represent the Potter books, which have "wonderful examples of compassion, loyalty, courage, friendship, and even self-sacrifice." Italian Methodist minister Peter Ciaccio analysed the relationship between J. K. Rowling's work and Christian theology, stating that the Harry Potter series is the positive outcome of the