Is Golden Compass selling atheism to kids?

The plot sounds familiar: Movie takes on religion, angers some faction of believers. But the furor surrounding The Golden Compass, a $180-million fantasy epic coming to theaters next Friday, is more complex than that.

Based on the first volume in the award-winning trilogy His Dark Materials by religious skeptic Philip Pullman, the movie already has been condemned by conservative Roman Catholics and evangelicals. They say it will hook children into Pullman's books and a dark, individualistic world where all religion is evil.

But at least one liberal scholar has called the trilogy a "theological masterpiece," and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops rates the film "intelligent and well-crafted entertainment." Meanwhile, some secularists complain the movie from New Line Cinemas waters down Pullman's religious critique. They feel sold out by the author, who has described himself as both an atheist and agnostic.

Starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, The Golden Compass traces a 12-year-old girl named Lyra from Oxford, England, to the Arctic to the edge of another universe, where she becomes locked in a battle between good and evil. The characters are shadowed by their own "demons," talking animal companions that take on soul-like qualities.

In early October, the New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights launched a boycott of the film, calling it "selling atheism to kids" at Christmas time in stealth fashion. Director Chris Weitz has said he cut controversial religious content to make the film more commercially viable, with the plan of being more faithful to the original material in sequels. For instance, the evil organization dominating the world is not "the church," as it is in the book, but the "Magisterium," which is getting criticism anyway because it's a Catholic term.

The later books are even more direct in their religious criticism. One character, a former nun, says: "The Christian religion is a very powerful and convincing mistake, that's all." Pullman himself has said, "I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief." Britain's National Secular Society, of which Pullman is a member, has said the changes made to avoid controversy amount to "taking the heart" out of the work. Yet the film's co-producer, Deborah Forte, said that in 12 years of being associated with the movie and the books, not one young reader has mentioned religion to her. Children love the story and the characters, she said.

"I think it's a tempest in a teapot," Forte said Friday. "What we find interesting about our film is we've made this wonderful epic adventure story for families. We encourage parents to make their own decisions.""The Golden Compass" arrives at an opportune time. Books by atheists are best-sellers, Hollywood studios are plumbing the fantasy genre for the next big franchise, and movies exploring faith are finding a place at the multiplex, if not always box office success.