I have just finished reading this series because I wanted to know what the controversy was over the movie (which I have not seen yet). I must say the books are interesting and religously borderline. The author does not believe in God and does openly attach the catholic church and its teachings in his book. The books' main undertone is that God and his empire have to be defeated, but even God is a pitiable figure. As a latter-day saint believer (mormon.org) his view of God and Christ is more on par with our view of Satan. And thank goodness death in our view is much different than other church's. We also do not believe that choice is a bad thing or that we will do nothing but praise God when we die. So I was not bothered by this series in a faith-challenging way. I actually found them quite addicting because I became engrossed in the story and its characters. I can recommend it for those who don't care about religious themes. I actually can look forward to the movie!