<p>My son made me read the His Dark Materials series. I kept saying, "This is pretty blasphemous" but I enjoyed the books. DS says that it's all a metaphor and that the real message is "Defy authority." He also says that the Church in the series is likely the Roman Catholic Church had the Reformation not occured.</p>
<p>Last night I was cruising channels and saw a guy from a Catholic organization who is launching an effort to keep parents from taking their kids to the movie, so they won't want to read the books.</p>
<p>Please weigh in if you have an opinion.</p>
<p>Well, it definitely is blasphemous, no doubt. It portrays the Church in a principally negative light. If you Google reviews about it, the amount of crappy reviews from Catholics is astounding. I think that the His Dark Materials series is different from Harry Potter in that it directly attacks the Church, while Harry Potter doesn't mention religion at all. </p>
<p>The series definitely is interesting, though. The idea is well thought out and unique. However, if religious beliefs are important to you, you might want to consider reading the books with your child(ren) or discussing the books after having read them.</p>