He has been declared one of the greatest writers in post-war Britain and in 2019, he was knighted for his contributions to literature. Pullman's vindication, of course, came in the form of tens of millions of copies sold and a handful of illustrious awards. Given that I’ve voiced some criticisms of religion in the past, and that various Christian groups have expressed their criticisms of me, it might be that whatever I said on the subject would be hostile in any case.' He continued, says the New Yorker, who had a reporter on site, 'I don’t profess any religion I don’t think it’s possible that there is a God I have the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words ‘spiritual’ or ‘spirituality’ but I think I can say something about moral education, and I think it has something to do with the way we understand stories.' In 2005, at a lecture at East Anglia, in Norwich, England, centered around the subject of religion and education, he said, “Quite what prompted you to ask me to talk about religious education I can’t immediately see. Power corrupts.' In a 2003 conversation with the Sydney Herald he summed up his plot: 'My books are about killing god.'

'Whenever you get a political structure, with ranks and hierarchies, you get corruption,' he argued, 'you get people who are more interested in progressing through those ranks than in doing good.

Shortly after the final installment's release, he reportedly told the Washington Post that his aim was to 'undermine the basis of Christian belief.' In a 2002 interview with the Guardian, he said organized religion is necessarily corrupt. Pullman’s public appearances did little to quell the uproar. That the god, here called The Authority, is a merciless tyrant and a fraud, certainly didn’t help. Coulter, work to maintain the church’s mighty power. They're also attempting to take down “Dust” (in Christian terms: original sin) while others, like Mrs. Lyra and Will must traverse several worlds, ages, and continents because some of those that they are chasing, like Lord Asriel, are working furiously to dismantle earth’s most prominent church, the Magisterium. Many of the plot lines about destiny, and whether we create it or embrace it, spurred controversy with Christian groups.

It’s a tale that involves angels and magical bears and ex-nuns and outer-body souls that accompany humans in the form of various animals called Daemons. It follows two pre-teens (Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry) on their occasional hunt for, and occasional run from, their respective parents. The work of scientific fantasy takes place in a series of parallel universes and was marketed as children’s fare when originally released between the years of 19.

Philip pullman books