Your View

To quote Stewie of "The Family Guy": "Oh, I rather like this God fellow, he is so delightfully EVIL". Certainly a childrens fantasy book could be no worse than the horrorific deads in the Old Testament.

Cheers to Brenda M, who despite being Roman Catholic, is willing to let her child read the book, and discuss the issues as they come up. Now if only school boards were this enlightened.

I wish the CBC would dig deeper on this, what else is pulled from the shelf? I presume that if a childrens fantasy novel is withheld, then Richard Dawkins' book “The God Delusion” is almost certainly banned? What about “the Da Vinci code”?

If these were private Catholic schools, then I could perhaps grant that they have some right to choose what is appropriate, but these are publicly funded institutions of EDUCATION. The students are supposed to be learning to think critically and not take everything in life (religion included) at face value. Simply silencing opposition does not encourage critical thought. If these school boards are even considering censoring any form of criticism, then perhaps it is time for society to reconsider funding Catholic Schools, even if it means re-opening the Constitution.

I am not so sure children can read meaning into books such as "The Golden Compass" series. They see them as face-value fantasy books, which they are.

All the anti-religious rhetoric surrounding them is another thing for grown men and women to get mad about. Let the kids read their fantasy books. Better to read than to watch.

In a publicly funded school system (this wouldn’t even be an issue if the Catholic board was private) in the most culturally diverse country in the world, absolutely no book should be removed from a library based on its religious views. Atheism can be considered a religion. There will never be absolute proof that a god does or doesn't exist... so a belief in either side is based on one's own faith and personal opinion. If anything, reading literature on alternate religions should be encouraged as an opportunity to open up discussions and debate on the subject. Don’t these institutions know by now that when you ban or forbid a child to do something, it just makes it all that more appealing? Thanks to all the Christian calls for boycotts and bans on this Golden Compass movie and book, they have guaranteed even more people will see and read it.

Having read the books myself, yes, there is definitely a distinct anti-church sentiment in the writing. As an adult, I caught the undertone of that in the book, but I seriously doubt that my 12 year old will actively absorb that theme. She is reading it for the plot, the exciting main character, Lyra and the wondrous world Lyra lives in. As others have said, the children are reading for the enjoyment of the book, and they are not necessarily dissecting the elements of the plot for theological analysis. However, I am a practicing RC, and if she inquires about the religious theme in the book, I will not have any problem discussing this with her.

Just one more reason to remove funding for Catholic schools and make them all public.

Who cares... all the same kids who won't be reading the book will see it in the theatre... this way there is no danger of them developping an attention span at school, and at least we can sell them some coke at the same time.

Every school board, faith based or public, has the responsibility to ensure that the literature available to children in their schools is appropriate.

Catholic schools are founded on a certain set of beliefs and principles and, if literature such as The Golden Compass and Harry Potter series are judged to offend those standards, then their administration has both the right and responsibility to keep them out.

In the public school system there is a great deal more hypocricy built into their standards. You will not find a Jewish Torah, Christian Bible or the Quoran on our school library shelves but you will find Harry Potter books that are based on active pagan religions whose beliefs and values are rooted in witchcraft and sorcery. You will also find The Golden Compass that promotes Atheism or anti-religion to the young reader.

This does not stop with books. Halloween, an event rooted in ancient pagan religion, is actively celebrated in the schools. Christian parents who express any objection are quickly told that it's just harmless fun and to stop being so paranoid. However, a few weeks later the public schools start celebrating the "Winter Holiday Season" and, when those same parents suggest that it should be observed as Christmas, they are told that a public institution cannot be seen to promote any religious belief. In other words, it's no longer harmless fun. So, just who is paranoid here?

There is no other way to interpret this double standard than to conclude that the public school system has chosen to actively promote certain religions over others as long as they are seen to be harmless fun.

If we are going to have no religion whatsoever in public schools, fair enough. But we then need to screen all material and activities to weed out anything that references any religion or anti-religion theme no matter how well written and universally loved it may be.

That's called responsible consistency.

"NOTHING has been done yet. A complaint was made. They are now looking into it. That's it. Period. Fin."

Actually, the school board has asked the libraries to remove the books. That's definitely not "nothing".

The other problem that is now encountered is Scholastic reccommends a number of books to be ordered from their school purchasing lists by parents.

IF the schools have been told they can't give out the December book list because of this controversy,does that not mean that Scholastic suffers undue hardship also?

I know my kids and grandkids have always bought books from there that you may not see or hear about otherwise.

This all reminds me of the Teletubby fiasco a number of years ago when it was claimed one of them was gay.

The Catholic groups in the U.S. are boycotting the book and are asking all Catholics to do the same.

I often wonder if they don't realize how much more they cause kids to wonder what all the fuss is about.

Fabulous - publicity you couldn't buy for the cost of a phone call. Brian Epstein would be proud.

The issue here isn't censorship but whether the book is age-appropriate.
There are plenty of classics that kids probably shouldn't read until they've reached a certain level of intellectual maturity, namely 'don't believe everything you read'.
It's my experience that Catholic high schools have an extremely wide range of literature in their libraries, some openly critical of religion.
In elementary school, the most important thing is to get the kids reading, and with today's distractions it's an uphill battle. Maybe Harry Potter is "puerile fiction", but it has made readers of a whole new generation of children.

It doesn't surprise me. I live in the area and am well aware that this particular school board suffers from extreme paranoia. I haven't heard of other Catholic school boards over-reacting to almost everything like this one does.

Surely it would be best for children to be exposed to controversy within the school system, and to use the opportunity to have intelligent discussions with them about it.

By trying to hide controversy from the children, the board is only ensuring that their first contact with it will be outside the school system.

The book is presently being "reviewed" by a select committee. It has not been censored,yet.
The review process will help to determine the ultimate fate of the book,indeed, the series,vis a vis "appropriateness".
I trust that the CBC and all of the other involved media will stay on top of this story.The final determination of the review committee and the rationale for that determination will be most news-worthy and will provide ample fodder for serious debate.

If he book 'offends' in descriptive language Almighty God , Roman Catholic teaching , or persons who profess belief in the Roman Cathoilc dogma's, then it is proper and right to remove the offending literature from the school libraries. Having so stated, I wonder aloud how this contraversial and insulting piece of work made its way to the school book shelves in the first place. Was it not read for content prior to making it available to the student body ?

Well, it's not so bad, it is a religious school board, so they probably don't want something like that in their library, but if it had been a gov't school board I'd be a little disturbed.
However, taking perfectly fine literature away from children will not help gain support for religion, they should be supporting a more open-minded community. I wouldn't want my children going to a school that does that, but then again I prefer public schools.

Hence, my total disagreement with religious schools. Religion is for the parents and the church, not the people who are charged with developing young peoples' minds; their ability to reason, their ability to apply logic, their ability to THINK.

Seriously though folks, does anybody really think that through reading a fantasty fiction book, a child will buy into the author's faith (or lack thereof)?

My son has read the Harry Potter series, the Eragon books, the Chronicles of Naria, the Magyk series, and just about anything else he can get his hands on that deals with dragons, magic, wizards, and the like. Actually, he's read each series several times and is waiting for more to be released.

They are ENTERTAINMENT. Furthermore, they are beautifully written, enflame the imagination, stimulate the vocabulary, and encourage further reading for enjoyment. I don't think anybody can disagree with my assertion that children today simply do not read enough.

I disagree with censorship. Especially if the only reason for the censorship is that it offends somebody's spiritual beliefs. We were all blessed with our own brains and intellects. For God's sake, let us allow our children to use them.

If Catholic parents disagree with this type of book, why can't they use it as a teaching tool? Let the child read it, then actually discuss it with them... Stimulate your children, don't indoctrinate them.

Scott of Calgary wrote: "I want to complain about a certain book...due to my religious views. It's called "The Bible", and I am uncomfortable with school-children potentially reading about this so-called "God" character."

Well, you or your children will certainly be poorer and more ignorant for not reading the Bible, despite your religious views. Much of western literature and culture cannot be comprehended without an understanding of the Bible as literature. Even a literate atheist would grant this.

As for the Golden Compass, it's no worse than the Harry Potter books. Although I'm a raving fundamentalist Christian lunatic (by many standards), my biggest problem with these books (especially Potter) is the fact that they feed an appetite for puerile fiction. Children would develop better taste by reading C.S. Lewis or Tolkien...or God forbid, the Bible.

Wow. It seems a great many posters to this forum could use some reading lesson and comprehension refresher courses.

NOTHING has been done yet. A complaint was made. They are now looking into it. That's it. Period. Fin.

The zealots on both sides of the argument have quickly weighed in ... and is most often the case, have done so without all (or any) of the facts.

CBCs question is this: What do you think of the School Board's reaction? ... I think their reaction is fine. They haven't banned anything yet. They haven't done anything other than look into the substance of the complaint.

Everyone gets bent out of shape when a complaint is made and nothing is done about it. Now a complaint is made and it's being looked at .. and the very same people are getting bent out of shape.

I think there might just be some medication you people could really, really benefit from.

I can't say it is terribly surprising that a Catholic school board would consider removing books that do not follow with Catholic teachings - the whole point of the system is to *promote* those teachings, so anything that raises questions is going to be looked at negatively.

But wouldn't it make more sense for the Catholic school board to *require* its students to read views that disagree with Catholicism? It seems to me that the most effective way to teach any viewpoint is to look at the arguments of those who disagree and discuss why they may be wrong. This is especially true for children who, like it or not, are eventually going to leave the Catholic system and enter a world that will have no problem questioning their beliefs. Why not get them considering such ideas now so that they are better prepared for them later?

If a person's faith cannot survive the reading of a work of fiction, then there is obviously a deeper problem - after all, the whole point of faith is that it can be held in the face of opposition.

I am understanding that the Catholic school board would want to remove literature from their schools that goes against their doctrine, that being promoting the Catholic faith.

While I am in total support of their move, this underscores the necessity to REMOVE ALL FUNDING from the Catholic school system.

I think they are right to do this, it is consistent with their beliefs. We as tax-payers should just not be funding this in any way whatsoever.

What a shame. My parents attended Jesuit schools, and received an education notable for its fearlessness. Catholicism certainly was always notable for its censoriousness, but also for an intellectual tradition that sought to arm Christians with all points of view. It seems that the censoriousness is winning out.

I laugh at the cynical postings by some. They are reviewing a book that goes against thier belief system. They have that right the in the same way that schools have the right to show the fictional film "The inconvenient truth." I went to a catholic school in ontario and did in fact learn about evolution as well as other religeons in the world. It gave a greater understanding of other religeons and an appreciation for thier beliefs. Don't try to lump the Catholic school boards into the same level of intolerance displayed by those on the left that wish to mute and riducule anyone that doesn't see things there way. That would be no better than the McCarthyism being displayed by the Al Gores and David Suzukis of the world.

The one thing I think that people of faith need to be able to do is deal with their faith in a thoughtful and intellectual manner. Wanting books that present opposing ideas, even in this manner, to be withdrawn from libraries so that children cannot read them is to deny them the opportunity to think about their faith. If the children don't have to think about opposing ideas, then the parents don't have to deal with these intellectual ideas either. If we retreat from the intellectual challenges being thrown at our faith then we will lose for sure. Circling the wagons was a defensive strategy that guaranteed defeat - this is a circling the wagons strategy. Faith is reasonable, it can be upheld intellectually and many of the great minds of history (and of today) have been and are people of faith. We have no reason to fear books like the Golden Compass unless our own hold on our faith is weak.

Well, since public schools have banned religious books I guess this seems fair.

Atheists have been on a cleansing of all public institutions of any displays of religion so it just seems logical that a Christian insitution would rid itself of atheist material advocating for the death of God.

I love the hypocrisy of the atheists whining about this though.

Ah, yes... The Index... No doubt the priests should be free to continue the indoctrination of our youth as they see fit. The real question is why should they do it with public money. Follow Nfld and Quebec and end public funding for sectarian schools.

Cheers,
dba

This book was an excellent idea! As a child I was sick of reading from a catholic point of view, as an aithiest. I read this book to my younger siblings and not on ly that. The storyline is incredible and fun!! The school board to overreacting with 1 negitive persons nagging.

I would hope the Board's decision to remove the book from its library shelves was due to objectionable content. Doing so based solely on the authors declaration of atheism would be a travesty. Generally, we adopt a policy of tolerance toward the beliefs and personal convictions of all. The Board would be imposing an unjustified 'penalty' on the author simply because he/she refuses to accept
the existence of God.

I am certainly not going to argue that these books "attack" religion and things such as (publically funded) religious school boards. However, if the past has taught us anything we should know by now that pretending something doesn't exist doesn't make it disappear. If the Catholic School Board actually has reason to think its views can stand up to critique in the form of young adult literature, then they really should give their students access to the books so that the students can understand the opposing point of view. The thing is, I think the CSB is rather afraid that their views don't hold water, and as a result they think that children in the Catholic stream shouldn't be exposed to anything that challenges religious dogmatism. People aren't turning away from religion because of young adult fiction... if they are turning away from religion it's because the views held by the church just don't "mesh" with the views held by the church's potential congregation.

To clarify my position: I don't think that all reglious beliefs are dogmatic, but many are. I grew up with religion lessons in school and I can honestly say that they played a rather large part in my decision to live a non-religious life.

Manufacturing Dissent:

How is this even news? One school board that is Catholic is reviewing one book, that may or may not be banned? This seems a little pre-emptive, maybe because by the time the board makes a decision, the movie will be in theatres and it will be too late for a good public controversy to guarantee box office success? The board received a complaint and it was their prerogative whether to look into to it, it is not a forgone conclusion- unlike what the question above would suggest.

I am very surprised that our 'tolerant' and accepting country has produced so many snide remarks: "illogical belief systems" etc.

I am not terribly surprised to hear this, given the volume of controversy that the film is receiving at the moment. I am, however, more than a little saddened that Canadians are even considering jumping on the close-minded bandwagon.

This trilogy is certainly not in agreement with those factions who support a blind and unquestioning faith. It condemns a (fictional) church in which free thought and curiosity are punished, and unwavering obedience, uniformity, and subservience are required. They also condemn an (fictional) oppressive god, who isn't actually a god at all, but an angel drunk with unearned power.

These books are all about society's need for free thought and conscious, informed decision making. They are about the acceptance of differing cultures, and the struggle of sentient beings to remain free.

They are also a smashingly good story.

This isn't the kind of stuff to shield our children from, Canada!

As an avid reader (albeit without reading the works in question), I'm dismayed by any challenge to the ability of libraries and schools to have in their collections as wide an array of viewpoints as possible. That said, I hold two major reservations about this case. First, A Roman Catholic school board, with its mandate to defend and build the faith as well as to educate children, is well within its mandate to exclude from its selections any work that directly contradicts or challenges the views of the Church. Secondly, Philip Pullman's public statements about his goals in writing this trilogy seem to reveal a
desire in Pullman merely to strip from children a great deal of what God represents for so many with only such concern for his readers as the candy thief for his infant victim. When read in the context of his spoken words, his printed ones can reasonably be viewed by a Catholic school board as not only dangerous to its aims, but possibly corrupting to its young charges as well.

When I was a Catholic schoolboy, I checked out a public library book of Bible stories written by a Jewish author. When I told the nuns how much I liked it, they told me it didn't have the imprimatur on it and told me not to read it. I was in the 4th grade and that rankled. That was probably the beginning of my questioning of what has long been my former faith. If there's a pro-atheist agenda to Compass, it eluded me, but removing it from the school's shelves will hardly keep it from those who wanted to read it and who will, now, want to read it even more.

Great news for Phillip Pullman -- Already the book has made it into a movie, and now the publicity that this will generate will send sales of his trilogy through the roof! I know I'm going to go read it!

It's a pity, though, I didn't think this sort of censorship garbage still went on in the 21st century. Does the school board know what all of these kids have access to on the internet?

Censorship is wrong. Canada supports open democracy and a free press. Kids need to learn this. The tax-supported Catholic school system has no right to use public money to indoctrinate innocent children. A single public school system for all children aged 6 to 17 would be much better with a focus on secular, liberal, democratic ideals of equality, liberty, fairness, kindness, democracy, tolerance, science and social cooperation. Religion can be safely left to the churches to teach at their own expense. I am deeply concerned that public money is being used by religion to undermine our democratic and tolerant society.

The HDCSB is not a public library. The board is accountable to the parents and community taxpayers who direct their tax dollars to the Separate School System. Like it or not, Catholic or not Catholic, the Ontario government supports funding of our Separate Schools and if one parent presents a reasonable concern about the reading material that his/her child may bring home, the HDCSB has a responsibility to review the complaint and respond to the parent and HDCSB community...no one else, not the Ontario government, not the CBC or even CNN if they happen to call. I am one of those HDCSB parents and Separate School taxpayers and I also support the review of this book. I trust they will make the right decision based on their interpretation of the book and consultation with Church representatives. This Superintendant would have better served the school board and the parents he is accountable to by not responding to the CBC. Unfortunately, this demonstrates the fact that literature makes its' way into our school systems, both public and separate, without much censorship (I know that's an evil word to many people today). The CBC, publishers of the book and movie promoters will thrive on the public interest as it will certainly generate significant profits. Isn't that what this is really all about after all!

Simple solution: if they want to pull the book, we pull their (public) funding. Then they can do whatever they want privately.

This is just stupid, stupid, stupid, on the part of the board.

In this day and age, when kids are exposed to EVERYTHING from every kind of crap on TV to all the stuff on the Internet and in video games... this board thinks it is going to "protect" kids .... from what ... from a book!!!!!!!!?????

Get a grip on reality, here folks!!!

Just getting those kids interested enough to read anything would be an achievement!!!!!!

(Anyway, the good thing about banning this book is that maybe the kids will be more likly to read it!)

What I find truly fascinating is that "His Dark Materials"is not a new book - I think the Golden Compass is at least ten years old. Yet it takes a movie adaptation to publicize its admittedly controversial content. Where were these dissenters ten years ago? Did they doubt that something as childish as "Young Adult Literature" could be subversive?

Well, at least Harry Potter will be looking pretty innocuous to parents now!

The school board's "review" of Pullman's trilogy fits in with the unfortunate trend towards evaluating children's literature based on more or less narrow-minded criteria of moral appropriateness, as opposed to literary merit. Obsessively trying to shield children from "dangerous ideas" won't turn them into responsible, thinking citizens; they need to be encouraged to read widely and critically.

Even if Pullman's books amount to thinly veiled atheist propaganda (I doubt they do, but I haven't read them), they're widely agreed to be pretty good, intelligent speculative fiction. I would think that an enlightened Catholic educator would want children to enjoy and learn from the bits that are inoffensive to Catholic beliefs, and to understand at some level the doctrinal problems with the rest. Children who are savvy enough to pick up any atheist messages should also be capable of forming a critical opinion of them.

From the rational side of the fence, my atheist father had no objection to my reading C.S. Lewis from a relatively tender age, and I seem to have escaped becoming a faith-head. Hopefully the Halton Catholic School Board will take an equally broad-minded attitude, and keep Pullman on their library shelves.

This book is a deliberate attack under the guise of a fantasy. Good try. It does not fly!

It is good that this kind of crap is not avilable in schools. Who needs it? I hope, it stays that way for a long time to come.

If one wants to make money pick on those who have power, if your life means anything.??

"My books are about killing God." Philip Pullman (The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 Dec 2003)

This is the author's intent in his writings; this is not the simple case of a novel whose author "happens to be an atheist".

"What could he say in a single word, a few words, that would sear all their faces and wake them up?" -Fahrenheit 451

What this ridiculous issue shows is that adults not only want students to ignore well-written literature which would greatly expand their vocabularies and minds but also that they feel it is better children read nothing at all if it even hints at independent thought, or any kind of thought at all.

The fact that it took the release of a movie to bring questions about a book published over a decade ago suggests that adults, in their quest to ban Pullman's book, want children to follow their lead and cease reading all together. That the complaints have been lodged based on the film when the book itself has been suggested to be the best in children's literature in the past seventy years really shows the mental smallness of those adults in question.

The books question religion, and unblinking faith in organizations which cause harm to people. Do we really want to teach our children that dogma trumps basic humanity?

Wonderful idea to review every complaint. I can stroll in, complain about a couple of books a day, and waste taxpayers money at a feverish rate having them reviewed! And in the meantime, express my bigoted view of the world. The nutcase school boards in the US do this, too! Let's not follow their bad example. Objectivism lives.

I'd also like to add two points:

I would not let any child under the age of 10 read the Harry Potter books.

Regardless of what anyone thinks, these are parents who believe that they are doing what is best for their children, based on the beliefs they, themselves, hold and teach - and who are we to criticize those beliefs because we don't share them? Would you want someone to tell you what books you can and cannot let your children read?

Comparing The Golden Compass to Mein Kampf is way out of line, and illustrates the confusion and double-speak that characterizes some of the conversation on human rights and diversity in schools. Mein Kampf was a piece of hate literature against Jews: The Golden Compass is a secular book, and it's fantasy-based. it doesn't attack anybody.
Some Christians need to get over that assumption that everything that is not Christian is anti-Christian. Ditto the assumption that ignorance is virtuous, and that children should be protected from world views different from thier own. If an education is publically funded, it should be inclusive of everyone. That doesn't mean no "Silent Night", but they should also expect to learn of Winter Solstice, Divali, Kwanza, Channuka, and the winter dances of Canada's Aboriginal people.

As for Catholic schools, they are an unfortunate hold-over from a less tolerant and less diverse Canada. Giving Catholic institutions public money to provide public services should probably stop, since the temptatoin to use those services as a platform for prosceletizing and imposing the Catholic world view onto others is just too tempting to refuse.

I think a few folks on this board need a lesson or two on comprehensive reading. The article indicates the book has not been banned, it has been removed from open shelves and is under review by the school board. Children can still take the book out, but have to make a request to do so.

And the book certainly is still available in bookstores and public libraries, etc. It's not like the book has been removed from all shelves and is not accessible anywhere else.

I would be very surprised if the Catholic School Board chose to allow these books to remain on the shelves. They're very anti-religious and, in particular, anti-catholic (far more so than the DaVinci Code).

I'm not a Christian, but I can fully understand that as a religious school they have the right to remove books that attack their beliefs.

Now, if non-Catholic schools banned it, that would definitely be a problem!

These are great books, and I would recommend them to anyone, but they certainly contain material that a Catholic school would take offense at - they show organized religion and "god" as an enemy and the heroes of the book are activley working against them.
If youve read the books, you cant really be surprised when the board decides to pull them, as they certainly will. Part of their mandate after all, is to educate their students in their religion.

Philip Pullman, the man that Halton Catholic school board superintendent Rick MacDonald describes as a "very engaging author" in the CBC online article, is quoted in a 2003 interview in the Sydney Morning Herald as declaring: "My books are about killing God."

Christopher Hitchens, no slouch himself when it comes to writing about God's demise, describe's Pullman as "the most dangerous author in Britain." Declares Hitchens: "He is the anti-Lewis, the one the atheists would have been praying for, if atheists prayed." In other words, Pullman sells atheisim to kids the way C. S. Lewis sells Christianity.

Therefore, why wouldn't the Halton school board -- and every other Catholic board in Canada as well as any Christian-based school -- withdraw Pullman's books from their libraries? In the non-judgmental secularist world of public education, Pullman's trilogy may present just another opportunity to expose young people to the diversity of ideas through literature.

However, Catholic boards, among other things, are charged with preserving their faith and fending off attacks against it. In the words of the author himself, his books constitute just such an attack. I'm astounded at the apparent lack of understanding by previous writers of the purpose of Catholic education. I commend the Halton board and I hope their review results in sending Pullman's books to the nearest sanitary landfill site. Or, perhaps, the Toronto Public Library.

Anyone have the address for the Halton School Board? I want to complain about a certain book they have in their libraries due to my religious views. It's called "The Bible", and I am uncomfortable with school-children potentially reading about this so-called "God" character.

While I agree with most of the posts on this issue regarding the relative merits of unfettered literature, and freedom to read, and explore lots of ideas, I have one further remark.

EVERYONE censors something at some point, for some very good (according to them) reason. ALL parents censor (select) reading, viewing, eating, and social experiences and material while raising children, to protect them from some sort of perceived harm. THIS IS NORMAL.

While we can all sit around and wag our fingers at the Catholic school system, the fact is that ALL school systems employ censorship to suit themselves on some level.

Public schools seldom have "creationism" texts in their libraries, and religious school seldom keep evolution texts on their shelves.

As for all the other issues and situations out there that parents find contentious, lots of schools are very selective about what they have, DEPENDING ON THE AGES OF THE CHILDREN.
Some contraversies are appropriate for discussion or exploration at one age level, more that another.

In any case, one of the primary reasons for religious schools in the first place is to ensure that children are exposed to certain beliefs, and kept away from others, so I don't know why anyone would be surprised they're doing this. It just goes with the territory.

I've not read the books however, I have read in a quote by the author stating that he wants to "Kill God in the minds of Children". We can't believe everything we read but I personally do not have Mr. Pullmans phone number to ask him if that is what he said or not. I wouldn't suggest banning the books. I would suggest giving parents the information and let them decide. Some things out there are contrary to what we teach our kids in these impressionable young years. We have a responsibility to protect them.

Does anyone know if this school board allows Charles Darwin's books on its shelves?

It's a pity someone with the power to do it, obviously fears young Catholics will be swayed from their unchosen path and may actually start to understand the word humanity.

I'm not an Ontario taxpayer, but if I were I think I'd like to know why my taxes are being spent to discourage young people to look at all sides of an issue or to develop the ability to chose for themselves what they believe.

Seems to me if the loss of belief of faith is the concern here it must be quite a tenuous faith to begin with.

Hey you guys just had your provincial elections where the biggest issue seemed to be the spending of tax dollars on private schools.

Proponent John Tory's tories lost big time on that very issue. I'd say it's time the government completed its mandate and brought in 100 percent tax-based public education.

Lift those dark veils and let the truth shine through.

The details of the story are important here - we are talking about a CATHOLIC and ELEMENTARY school. The first denotes its purpose of existence - to educate children within a Christian framework and worldview; the second highlights the fact that its students are ages 5-13 - most are not at the stage of development in which they are ready to make up their own mind about their beliefs about God. If the Catholic education system believed we should raise our children in a vacuum of religious beliefs and values until they are old enough to choose themselves, the system would not exist. Even the public system does not believe that; the values of tolerance are clearly underlying much of the curriculum, and intolerant literature is and should be weeded out of its libraries. The Golden Compass's atheistic values become glaringly clear in the third book, so I can't imagine why a Catholic and elementary school would NOT restrict it from libraries. This is not censorship; it's a responsible action reflecting the values and beliefs that the school system in question professes.

Yes the readers are kids, but again, this book does not "promote atheism", the author just happens to be an atheist.

It's the difference between not letting a child read a book with overtly sexual passages, and banning a book because the author has had sex.

I would not want a 10 year old to be reading "Lolita", but "Alice in Wonderland" is ok by me, even if Lewis Carroll is suspected to have been a pedophile.

WOW! I can hardly imagine where all the contempt for organized religion comes from.I am not Catholic,or actually,not deeply religious at all.But really,I thought we sort of believed in a families right to live their lives within their own values.
I can see how many wars and wrong-doings have been done in the name of "God" over thousands of years.But to suggest,as Charlene seems to do,that governments or anyone else has the final say on an issue like this is truly scary.
Believers,be they Muslims,Catholics,or whatever,should have the right to educate their families in accordance with their own family religion.Or lack of.
Or,is this revenge for wrong-doings in the past?? Surely Catholic,and other religions in early Canada were wrong to try to impose their values on First Nations people.Is it now our belief that we should seek revenge by imposing our values on them? Have we not yet learned from mistakes in the past,that deeply held beliefs will not be stifled by either legislation or force?
I can only say I am glad I do not live in Ontario.In B.C.,the government funds ALL schools,and,they have to meet certain standards regarding their curriculams.But the religion that their parents want them exposed to is their business.Public schools are there for those who want not religion taught.
We can NEVER,nor should we try,to impose any religion on any family.Nor should we try to deny them their beliefs,and their right to educate their children within those beliefs.And it is irrelevant whether or not we share those beliefs.

It's a Catholic school boad. The whole reason for Catholic schools are to teach from a Catholic perspective. How intolerant are we to force our views on them? Would we force an Islamic school to carry books by Jewish authors or with jewish themes? I will bet you can't find a single book promoting Christianity in public schools. If Catholic schools are forced to carry athiestic writings then should public schools not be forced to carry Catholic writings?
They should be allowed to make their own decisions.

I'm amazed at the reaction this has generated. Did anyone stop to actually read the story? The school board hasn't DONE anything yet! Someone complained, and now they're reading the book for themselves to see if there's any legitimacy to the complaint. The superintendent even says he likes the book so far!

Besides, we don't even know what the complaint was about! The CBC only speculated that the complaint MIGHT have something to do with the authors SUSPECTED atheist beliefs. Maybe the complaint is about the usual targets of censorship, like violence.

If it comes out that the school board bans this book because of some allegorical anti-religous message, then maybe there is some debate to be had. Until then, this is just a disappointing case of sensationalism that I thought was below the CBC.

My generation grew up reading Mother Goose fairy tales and if most of us survived that twisted piece of litterature. I think today's children can survive reading The Golden Compass.

Banning books is generally a negative thing and ends up causing more problems than it solves.

Ah, so now I suppose they'll be banning anything written by Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens or Einstein as well. I suppose Protestant, Muslim or Jewish authors won't be discriminated against, though. They're 'good' people because they have faith in whatever illogical belief system they grew up in. Good to see that those kids are getting a proper, balanced education at our expense.

As someone who has actually read these books and thoroughly enjoyed them I am dismayed to see such a reaction based on the alleged anti-religious intentions of the novel. The Golden Compass is not an "anti-God" book, it is a children's fantasy story. It contains elements depicting the fall of a fictional church.
It is good to know that the interests of a school board can be swayed so easily by one complaint. Regarding the claims that the book was written by an atheist, I hope that any non-Catholic science textbooks are removed from classrooms as well.
It is also interesting to note that this book was published over 10 years ago but now receives criticism just as a blockbuster movie is drawing attention to it.
Finally I would like to thank the CBC for publishing a much fairer and less sensational report of this story than certain other Toronto news outlets.

Way to go Halton School Board! The first school board in not only Canada, but the world to pull a very interesting and educational reading material from children after not 1000, not 100, not 10, but 1, yes 1 complaint. I dare suggest that this 1 person is of a religious background and might disagree with some of the views in the book. This 1 person and the Halton School Board should recognize that life is all about differing opinions and fighting through those differences to achieve a collective good. Guess Halton District doesn't work like that. Hopefully they don't spread their intolerances to us in Waterloo Region!

Banning books eh? Anyone here get a sense that this is similar to book burnings, movies being banned, records being smashed? People need to be able to read, understand, and experience for themselves. This helps us develop our individuality, and more importantly, our ability to think rationally.

I am thankful that the private Catholic school I attended not only had high academic standards, but also had the cojones to provide us with access to all kinds of literature (including different political, religious, philosophical world views). The objective: to help us become intelligent, contributing members of society. But alas, this was well before the advent of political correctness, and knee-jerk reactions.

"It is silly enough to ban a book for it's contents, but even sillier to ban a book because of the authors religious or political leanings."

JB we're talking kids here, kids who's parents selected a particular school so that the kids are exposed to certain things and not others. This isn't about adult freedom of expression or open ideas. Again one could say the same about having the "Bell Curve" in a "Black School" while trying to do the difficult enough job of motivating those kids to learn without exposing them to texts saying that they are genetically inferior to everyone.

Having actually read the trilogy (which many of the posters here clearly haven't) I can say a few things with certainty. I preface my comments with two notes to give them context: first, that, while not Catholic, I am Christian, and second, that I very much enjoyed the books as works of literature.

Having said that, I can say that I can see why a Catholic school board might find the books offensive. At the end of the third book, during the final battle between "good" and "evil", there is a scene in which it is identified that God is the useless and decrepit man laying nearby on a stretcher. To me, this was a clear portrayal by the author of a view, and if he is an aethiest perhaps his view, of God being powerless.

That being said, it was not a large part of the series, and overall, like any work of fiction with a controversial part, it should not be used to censor the book.

I would also say that I'm not quite sure why these books are considered children's books. I don't it would necessarily be appropriate for a child under 12.

But didn't the story say that the school board had not banned the book anyways? Some people should really read the story before commenting...

I think the reaction of the school board is disgusting and shameful. Anyone who would take such an action should be immediately removed from any educational position. Even if censorship were justified in any case, and it never is(EVER!), this book should not be censored. I've read it, and I read it when I was attending a catholic elementary school. It didn't make me question my faith. The actions of catholic authorities did...

You know, this is really weird. Just the other day, I read Harry Potter, and afterwards I became an old woman, because the author of the book is.

To be clear, The Golden Compass does not "promote atheism". It is a fantasy story that explores some religious themes, and even that doesn't really come into the story until the third book in the trilogy.

It is silly enough to ban a book for it's contents, but even sillier to ban a book because of the authors religious or political leanings. Are we going to ban Alice in Wonderland because the author did some drugs?

I actually read this book a few years ago for a fantasy literature class. Personally, I think it's a great read, and has the potential to be both an exciting and challenging for young readers. Although the book can be interpreted in several ways I do not believe that this book is about promoting atheism. Even if it does should we not be encouraging children to explore, view all the options, and then allow them make their own decisions? The Golden Compass, and Pullman's work in general have won several awards. More often than not it's the best books out there and the ones with valuable lessons that are banned-- 1984, To Kill A Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451...just to name a few.

when i was a kid in elementary school, i'm pretty sure i was more interested in recess and playing with my friends than over-analyzing fantasy books and writing theses on thier athiest aims. please. just goes to show how bored adults are! they don't have anything better to do than give kids a hard time. banning halloween costumes, banning books.. god, how can they make school any more horrible?? cancel recess because of fear of pervs and terrorists? howabout just lock them all up teaching them creation theory and what to do in an air raid. oh wait, i thought humanity is supposed to be PRO-gressing.

The system is really broken when ONE dissenting voice is all it takes to pull books off the shelf. I would expect this kind of pathetic decision from the Toronto board, but Halton? Come on guys, smarten up.

So, the complaint is that the book was written by an atheist and is anti-religion? I presume, then, that the school board will *also* review books written by people with other beliefs -- say, Christians -- that are pro-religion? Oh no, wait ... I forgot. Our tax dollars go to actually *support* the teaching of particular religious beliefs in Ontario because, unlike Newfoundland and Quebec, we haven't had the guts to step into the twentieth century.

Its the Catholic School Board, hence I would expect nothing less.

This is not a debate about the validity or lack thereof of aetheism or religion, its about what is appopriate material for a school professing a certain culture or set of beliefs.

Toronto is now in the midst of deciding whether or not the city's many struggling black kids should have the option of attending "Afrocentric schools." If said schools are created, I hardly think it would be appropriate for them to carry the DVD "Birth of a Nation" or writings from professor Phillipe Rushton. Why? because like aetheism and anti-Catholic, anti- Christian rantings offend Catholics, said materials would be deemed offensive to blacks.

You must understand that folks possesing an intitution (or owning it) have the right to ensist that their institution does not make them feel uncomfortable, just as Heather Reisman did when she banned "Mein Kampf" from her bookstore Chapters. Its this same argument that the Canadian government uses to limit free speech as it criminalizes so called hate speech.

"Whats to think - the writer is a idiot to potentially alienate 2/3'rds of his market place."

...Rod, you don't need to believe what the writer of a novel believes to enjoy it. Apparently, a writer must believe whatever ridiculous beliefs Catholics have to have a book in their libraries. That is stupid.

The book is a childs book. Since every child is born an atheist (you have no religious beliefs untill your parents force them on you), this would be right up a childs alley. Plus, children don't go through books with a fine toothed comb to find "sacriligous" connotations.

"Providing the book isn't, in and of itself, inapropriate (ie promoting hate, discrimination, or racism)"

I found this a little funny, considering I'm sure they'd have a copy or 2 of the old testament kicking around.

So just who did the "complaint" come from?
Something very stinky here it would seem.
Why are there no details?
When school boards start banning books they are crossing the line and must be taken to task for it!
Our kids have a right to read whatever they and their parents feel is appropiate.
Back off, because banning school books is NOT the school boards job!

Atheism is as valid a choice as any religion and should not be discriminated against. If books that promote atheism are banned from schools, then schools must also ban books that promote any other religious views.

It is unfortunate that being a non-believer is something many of us have to hide these days. If there is a god, strike down my computer before I send in this email as proof you exist.

Now that McGuinty is re-elected, how soon can we expect the religious school boards to be disbanded? Chop-chop, let's go!

Well I can't say I'm surprised that a Catholic school board wants to pull atheist writings. Not to generalize too much, but Catholics aren't really understanding of things like different views or logic.

I hate it when anyone tries to ban ideas because they don't agree with their own personal views. These are fictional books people!

I have no problem with children reading in class "The Golden Compass", any more than I have a problem with them reading "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Chronicals of Narnia", all of which were turned into successful movies with deeper meanings that are likely hidden to children anyway.

How do schools actually expect to instruct students to make thoughtful, informative choices when they just ban ideas and tell the students that these ideas are wrong?

It would seem ridiculous for a christian school to have such anti-religious literature in their library.
Good call. Pull the plug on it.

These are often very interesting issues. I am sure CBC is well aware that it is the kind of story that is likely to have strong opinions expressed on both sides of the issue and everywhere in between, thus the reason for it being posted on Your View.
My feeling is that the book has to be judged on its own merit. I know nothing about this book in particular, nor do I know what age group it is targeted for. But I generally would support the right of people to come to their own conclusions rather than having the censors tell us what we can or can't read.
Providing the book isn't, in and of itself, inapropriate (ie promoting hate, discrimination, or racism), and assuming its intended audience is mature enough to understand the book, challenge its premises and draw their own conclusions, then I can't support it being withdrawn due to some statements made by the author.

Whats to think - the writer is a idiot to potentially alienate 2/3'rds of his market place.

Three words

"GET A LIFE"

A persons orientation religious or otherwise does not affect their ability to get school kids to think things through and draw their own conclusions on all subjects.. After all public or private schools is that not the main function to teach our children "how" to think and come to conclusions?

I do not know much about this particular book but I do believe that various children’s books such as the Chronicles of Narnia have very strong pro-Christian themes and I don’t see them being pulled from any school systems as an affront to atheism or even to other religions in general.

While I can understand that members of “the church” may have objections it seems clear that this is simply another example of their inability to keep anything that may question their particular brand of religion within the educational system. This essentially makes for a system that is inherently biased and therefore, not something that should receive any public funding to promote. I don’t even agree with any church retaining tax free status but the idea that a particular single church not only doesn’t pay their fair share but actually receives funding from public money on top of that to promote a slanted educational agenda in keeping with their single minded members is really quite outrageous.

To me it is just another reason for a public education system that either teaches world religion or no religion.

I thought we were teaching kids to think for themselves and questions things.

The only thing this will do is want everyone to read the book to see why it is so controversial.

You ban something it just makes it that more inticing.

What a co-incidence?!?

The movie “The Golden Compass” is just about to be released by “New Line Cinema” into the cutthroat Christmas season. Publicity is difficult to get noticed with all of the other competitive movies also being released into the same market. The original novel is not that well known and the producers are getting nervous.

Somebody complains to the Halton Catholic School Board expecting their usual knee-jerk reaction in pulling or restricting the book and thereby guaranteeing widespread media coverage.

To-day I have checked the web pages of most of the Canadian media outlets and notice that each has some reference to this story but varying in degrees.

The topic is now on many public forums and has appeared as a thread in this one.

We can now look forward to the movie to open as one of the top ten in attendance and box office.

What a coincidence.

I don’t believe in coincidences.

This is a fantastic idea! From the perspective of a publisher.
What better way to get free national publicity and sell more books?