Reading Da Vinci 'alters beliefs'
2006-05-17 12:55
London - The Da Vinci Code has
undermined faith in the Roman Catholic Church and badly damaged
its credibility, a survey of British readers of Dan Brown's
bestseller showed on Tuesday.
People are now twice as likely to believe Jesus Christ
fathered children after reading the Dan Brown blockbuster and
four times as likely to think the conservative Catholic group
Opus Dei is a murderous sect.
"An alarming number of people take its spurious claims very
seriously indeed," said Austin Ivereigh, press secretary to
Britain's top Catholic prelate Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.
"Our poll shows that for many, many people the Da Vinci Code
is not just entertainment," Ivereigh added.
He heads a prominent group of English Roman Catholic monks,
theologians, nuns and members of Opus Dei, who commissioned the
survey from leading pollster Opinion Research Business (ORB) and
have sought to promote Catholic beliefs at a time when the
film's release has provoked a storm of controversy.
ORB interviewed more than 1 000 adults last weekend, finding
that 60% believed Jesus had children by Mary Magdalene -
a possibility raised by the book - compared with just 30
percent of those who had not read the book.
The English group demanded that the Da Vinci Code movie,
being given its world premiere at the Cannes Film festival on
Wednesday, should carry a "health warning".
The group, which stopped short of following the Vatican line
of calling on Catholics to boycott the film, accused Brown of
dishonest marketing based on peddling fiction as fact.
The novel, which has sold over 40 million copies, also
depicts Opus Dei as a ruthless Machiavellian organisation whose
members resort to murder to keep the Church's secrets.
The survey underlined the astonishing popularity of Brown's
novel - it has been read by more than one in five adults of all
ages in Britain.
Ivereigh complained that Brown and film studio Sony Pictures
"have encouraged people to take it seriously while hiding behind
the claim that it is fiction.
"Our poll shows they should take responsibility for their
dishonesty and issue a health warning."
In the survey, readers were asked if Opus Dei had ever
carried out a murder. Seventeen percent of readers believe it
had, compared with just four percent of non-readers.
Opus Dei spokesperson Jack Valero said he was astonished.
"Since we were founded in 1928, Opus Dei has promoted the
highest moral standards at work, spreading a message of
Christian love and understanding," he said.
"Yet the Da Vinci Code has persuaded hundreds of thousands
of people that we have blood on our hands."