If you grew up with ‘The Chronicles of Narnia‘, it probably feels like one of those “safe” childhood stories. Talking animals, magical lands, kids saving the day. Nothing about it feels shocking or dangerous when you think back on it.
That’s why it catches people off guard when they find out the series was actually banned more than once. And, what’s more shocking is that it wasn’t because of the writing, but because adults kept arguing over what the books were really teaching kids. And depending on who you asked, Narnia was either too violent, too magical, or too religious.
The First Ban: Violence And Magic Made Adults Uncomfortable
The first big ban happened in 1990, when schools in Howard County, Maryland, removed the books from classrooms. The reasons sounded serious: “graphic violence, mysticism, and gore”, even though most readers wouldn’t describe Narnia that way today.
The main issue was the fighting. The books have wars, battles, characters dying, and moments where the stakes feel very real.
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Some adults felt those scenes were too intense for children, especially since the danger was right there on the page. Magic was another problem. Spells, prophecies, mythical creatures, and dark forces made some parents uneasy.
Back then, the mix of fantasy and violence worried enough people that schools decided it was safer to remove the books entirely.
The Second Ban: Religion Took Center Stage
Years later, in 2005, Narnia ran into trouble again, but this time, violence wasn’t the issue. Religion was. Critics started pushing back against the Christian symbolism many readers see in the story, especially around Aslan.
A lot of people interpret Aslan as a symbol of Jesus Christ. Even though C.S. Lewis said he didn’t write the books as religious lessons, that explanation didn’t stop the criticism.
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For some groups, the symbolism felt too obvious to ignore. Things escalated in Florida when Americans United for the Separation of Church and State objected after then-governor Jeb Bush recommended The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to children. The group argued that promoting the book in schools crossed the line between church and state and called for it to be banned.
While some people said Narnia was too Christian, others said the exact opposite. Certain Christian groups argued, the books should be censored because they included pagan mythology, magic, and creatures they felt clashed with their beliefs. So the same story upset completely different people for completely different reasons.
That’s really the heart of why Narnia kept getting banned. In the end, the bans didn’t stop Narnia at all. The series has inspired TV shows and big Hollywood movies, and now a new reboot is being developed by Greta Gerwig for Netflix. If anything, the controversy just became another chapter in Narnia’s long story.
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