Reading 'Da Vinci Code' does alter beliefs

“The Da Vinci Code” has undermined faith in the Roman Catholic Church and badly damaged its credibility, Reuters reported, citing a survey of British readers of Dan Brown’s bestseller.

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% 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 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.

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 4% of non-readers.

Yeah, I'm jumping on the 'Da Vinci' bandwagon :) Personally, I think the Vatican and various Catholic groups overreacted. The protests and calls to ban, censor and even sue convinced some people - rightly or wrongly - that the Church have something to hide.