The Golden Compass

Pullman draws on religious ideas and criticisms to shape the basis of the story. While there are critiques of organized religion embedded into the work, his primary focus is using spirituality to create a fantasy world and raise spiritual and philosophical questions about the nature of religion and souls. Pullman’s The Golden Compass is not as overtly critical of organized religion as he has been in interviews and essays, but he does hint at strong criticisms of those who misuse Christianity and force their beliefs on others. This can be seen through characters like Mrs. Coulter, who has a perverted understanding of religious ideals and forces her will on others, which ultimately harms them.

The title of The New Yorker article that references Pullman’s religious views, “Far From Narnia” (2005), alludes to how Pullman offers a spiritual fantasy at the other end of the spectrum (Miller, Laura. “Far From Narnia.” The New Yorker. December 25, 2005). While The Chronicles of Narnia (1950-56) are revered as Christian works with many religious parallels, one can read Pullman’s His Dark Materials series as a spiritual fantasy with an entirely different message about Christianity and the nature of organized religion. Pullman’s subtle criticisms of religion crescendo into Lord Asriel’s take on Genesis at the end of The Golden Compass, which he essentially uses to justify his deadly experiments and actions.

Pullman’s contentious relationship with religion is something he does not hide in his interviews. He quickly dismisses notions of spirituality and God, but he does have an intellectual and philosophical curiosity in those ideas and their implications, which he explores in his novels. Pullman credits a large portion of his interest in Christianity to John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667), and he approaches the subject with an academic lens. The genuine curiosity of his approach and the way he renders the evils of certain beliefs so viscerally through moments like the abandoned dæmons locked in cages and Roger’s death in The Golden Compass makes his ideology apparent while also underscoring that he does not want to be heavy-handed with his own beliefs. Pullman provides a nuanced exploration of this subject matter, but by virtue of examining and sometimes criticizing religion, his work has drawn criticism of its own, particularly from Christians who take offense at his work. An opinion piece in The Atlantic highlights a criticism of Pullman’s work and his openly atheist views, particularly because of Pullman’s popularity in the fantasy genre. Rather than comparing The Golden Compass to The Chronicles of Narnia, this article opts to label it “closer to 1984” (Parker, James. “Philip Pullman’s Problem With God.” The Atlantic. November 2019). The article takes aim at the HBO television series, His Dark Materials (2019-22), as further spreading Pullman’s disdain and attacking an easy target.