Golden Compass not anti-religous

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Washington (ANI): James Bond star actor Daniel Craig has come out in defense of his new movie 'The Golden Compass" after the book on which the film is based was ordered to be removed from school libraries in the Canadian province of Ontario.In an interview with the Toronto Globe&Mail, Craig, who has a featured role in Compass said that the books are not anti-religious.

"These books are not anti-religious. I think that mainly they're anti-misuse of power -- whether it's religious or political," Contactmusic quoted the actor, as saying. The director of the movie, Chris Weitz also stood up in defense of the book and criticized the way people are reacting to a movie they haven"t seen. “I think it's a shame that people are reacting to a movie they haven't seen by attacking a book they haven't understood," Weitz said.

Catholic lay leaders in Canada and the U.S. have denounced the book as anti-Catholic in particular and antireligious in general. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, the largest Catholic lay group in the U.S., has branded Compass as "atheism for kids". However, the author of 'Shedding Light on His Dark Materials", Kurt Bruner, told CNSNews.com that the book and movie reflect "a story which is all about Satan overthrowing the authority of God."

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