Editing His Dark Materials (section)

==Christian opposition==
[[File:Cole Thomas Expulsion from the Garden of Eden 1828.jpg|thumb|A traditional depiction of the [[Fall of Man|Fall of Man Doctrine]] by [[Thomas Cole]] (''Expulsion from the Garden of Eden'', 1828). ''His Dark Materials'' presents the Fall as a positive act of maturation.]]
''His Dark Materials'' has occasioned controversy, primarily among some Christian groups.<ref>{{cite news |last=Overstreet |first=Jeffrey |title=Reviews:His Dark Materials |work=[[Christianity Today]] |date=20 February 2006 |url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/reviews/hisdarkmaterials.html |access-date=12 April 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070318111620/http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/reviews/hisdarkmaterials.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 18 March 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=John |title=Opinion |work=Librarians' Christian Fellowship |year=2006 |url=http://www.librarianscf.org.uk/bookshelf/opinion/houghton.html |access-date=12 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806071023/http://www.librarianscf.org.uk/bookshelf/opinion/houghton.html |archive-date=6 August 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>BBC News 29 November 2007</ref>

Cynthia Grenier, in the ''Catholic Culture'', said: "In the world of Pullman, God Himself (the Authority) is a merciless tyrant. His Church is an instrument of oppression, and true heroism consists of overthrowing both".<ref name="catholicculture">{{cite web |url=https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=4004|title= Philip Pullman's Dark Materials|access-date=5 April 2007 |last=Grenier|first=Cynthia|date=October 2001|publisher=The Morley Institute Inc}}
</ref> [[William A. Donohue]] of the [[Catholic League (U.S.)|Catholic League]] described Pullman's trilogy as "atheism for kids".<ref>{{cite web |last=Donohue |first=Bill |author-link=William A. Donohue |title="The Golden Compass" Sparks Protest |publisher=[[The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights]] |date=9 October 2007 |url=http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1342 |access-date=4 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080104223315/http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1342 |archive-date=4 January 2008}}</ref> Pullman said of Donohue's call for a boycott, "Why don't we trust readers? [...] Oh, it causes me to shake my head with sorrow that such nitwits could be loose in the world".<ref name="nitwits">{{cite news |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article2953880.ece |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080515224029/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article2953880.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 May 2008 |title=Philip Pullman: Catholic boycotters are 'nitwits' |work=[[The Times]] |first=David |last=Byers |date=27 November 2007 |access-date=28 November 2007 }}</ref>

In a November 2002 interview, Pullman was asked to respond to the ''[[Catholic Herald]]''  calling his books "the stuff of nightmares" and "worthy of the bonfire". He replied: "My response to that was to ask the publishers to print it in the next book, which they did! I think it's comical, it's just laughable".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.surefish.co.uk/culture/features/pullman_interview.htm |title=A dark agenda? |access-date=4 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511153018/http://www.surefish.co.uk/culture/features/pullman_interview.htm |archive-date=11 May 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The original remark in'' Catholic Herald ''(which was "there are numerous candidates that seem to me to be far more worthy of the bonfire than Harry Potter") was written in the context of parents in South Carolina pressing their Board of Education to ban the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' books.<ref>Catholic Herald - The stuff of nightmares - Leonie Caldecott (29 October 1999) |[http://archive.catholicherald.co.uk/article/29th-october-1999/7/the-stuff-of-nightmares]</ref>

Pullman expressed surprise over what he considered to be a relatively low level of criticism for ''His Dark Materials'' on religious grounds, saying "I've been surprised by how little criticism I've got. Harry Potter's been taking all the flak... Meanwhile, I've been flying under the radar, saying things that are far more subversive than anything poor old Harry has said. My books are about killing God".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/12/1071125644900.html |title= The shed where God died |last=Meacham |first=Steve |access-date=13 December 2003 |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald Online | date=13 December 2003}}</ref> Others support this interpretation, arguing that the series, while clearly anticlerical, is also anti-theological because the death of God is represented as a fundamentally unimportant question.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Lenz|editor1-first=Millicent|editor2-last=Scott|editor2-first=Carole|author=Schweizer, Bernard|title=His Dark Materials Illuminated: Critical Essays on Philip Pullman's Trilogy|date=2005|publisher=Wayne State University Press|isbn=0814332072|pages=160–173|language=en|chapter="And he's a-going to destroy him": religious subversion in Pullman's His Dark Materials}}</ref>

Pullman found support from some other Christians, most notably from [[Rowan Williams]], the former [[archbishop of Canterbury]] (spiritual head of the [[Anglican Communion]]), who argued that Pullman's attacks focus on the constraints and dangers of [[dogma]]tism and the use of religion to oppress, not on Christianity itself.<ref>{{cite news |last=Petre |first=Jonathan |title=Williams backs Pullman |work=The Daily Telegraph|location=UK |date=10 March 2004 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1456451/Williams-backs-Pullman.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1456451/Williams-backs-Pullman.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=12 April 2007 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> Williams also recommended the ''His Dark Materials'' series of books for inclusion and discussion in [[Religious Education]] classes, and stated that "To see large school-parties in the audience of the Pullman plays at the National Theatre is vastly encouraging".<ref name="WilliamsSchools">{{cite news |last=Rowan |first=Williams |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3497702.stm |title=Archbishop wants Pullman in class |work=BBC News Online   |date=10 March 2004 |access-date=10 March 2004 }}</ref> Pullman and Williams took part in a National Theatre platform debate a few days later to discuss myth, religious experience, and its representation in the arts.<ref>{{cite news |last=Oborne|first=Peter|title= The Dark Materials debate: life, God, the universe... |work=The Daily Telegraph|location=UK |date= 17 March 2004 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3613962/The-Dark-Materials-debate-life-God-the-universe....html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3613962/The-Dark-Materials-debate-life-God-the-universe....html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=1 April 2008 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>