by Andrea Nostramo

Created on: August 17, 2008

Like Harry Potter, The Golden Compass will not rile your children into atheism, though it wouldn't be a total shame if it did. You're so good at having faith? Have some faith in your children! Have faith in them that they are not simply sitting ducks, perched vulnerably on the fence of belief, ready to be swayed over to the side of the devil at the slightest touch of a breeze.

Also, to point out the obvious, The Golden Compass is a work of fiction. Whether you're discussing the book "His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman, or the movie adaptation, they are works of fiction. It is absurd to claim censorship due to religious criticism. If that were to be logical, we'd never have (or lose out on reading) some of the most fabulous children's books of our time. C.S. Lewis was very into his Christianity, having been a former non-believer; he penned the famous Narnia works, which were also about magic and spells. One cannot limit the imagination; to limit the imagination is to not understand the meaning of the word.

Religious critics need to save their carefully thought out vitriol for the real evil that lures kids to a dark place: things like drugs, gangs, cults, depression, suicide, etc. If they MUST criticize a book or a movie, then at least do it based on a TRUE book/movie. Bill Maher's new documentary entitled "Religulous" is scheduled to be released in theaters in October. In it, Maher questions the need for organized religion and points out its often poisonous nature. If you DEMAND your children follow in your relgious footsteps, then at least criticize something like that - a documentary based in truth, which could have an actual role in altering your children's perception of what is right and true.

But please don't censor young adult literature; it's some of the best literature there is! From L. Frank Baum's Oz series, to Lewis Carroll's Alice, to J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, to modern day J.K. Rowling - the idyllic mind of a child can leap from cloud to cloud with an umbrella like Mary Poppins, and never once turn into a warlock because of it.

And I might also note, though I'm sure it's futile, that it IS always a remarkable idea to let your children think for themselves. Is it really right to DEMAND that they follow the Bible, the Torah, or the Qu'ran, simply because you do? But, like I said, that's futile, also a different story for a different debate.

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