i read all three of the Dark Materials when I was around 14-15 (6 years ago)... after I read them I gave them to my younger brother who was twelve at the time... we both noticed the anti-religion theme running strongly in all three... if I remember one book was Dantesque with the children walking through some circle of hell type place where the souls of the damned were trapped.. eventually the children free these souls which drift away through space aqnd time as particles of the universe?... very weird and semi-spiritual/magical... again it has been a while since I read them... would definitely agree that the books were somewhat depressing... I really enjoyed them being a bookworm... and while I would agree they are explicitly against religious thought and forward atheistic notions... I would let my kids read them...

It's a shame that all these god/witchcraft controversies have to revolve around books. Compared to the smut on internet and TV, I really don't feel books are liable to warp or pervert young minds. Additionally I feel like most people on both sides of the argument haven't read so much as a paragraph of any of the books. To conclude: people should be more concerned about other media content that their children are exposed to daily, TV and internet are screwing this generation, not books