10 Movies That Were Condemned On Religious Grounds

5. The Hobbit

What do you get when a self-professed atheist filmmaker, Peter Jackson, films a children's book infused with mythological creatures? By now the answer should be entirely predictable: uproar from Christians for a Moral America, who immediately labeled Jackson as "Santa's Little Helper". The Hobbit - like Harry Potter - is a story in which witchcraft, wizardry and folklore play a large role in shaping the universe in which it is set, with wizards, trolls, orcs and an array of other fantastical creatures featuring throughout. While Christians for a Moral America concede that the original novel has strong Christian undertones (good versus evil being the most obvious one), Jackson's atheism seemed to preclude him from being capable of understanding these themes, and they issued a statement which read: "Jackson being the self-proclaimed Atheist he is obviously doesn't want to present this movie in the way it was meant by Tolkien. Let's vote with our wallets and send a big message to Hollywood and Jackson; Christians will NOT tolerate this blatant Anti-Christian bigotry and Atheist propaganda." Given the box office takings it seems apparent that few heeded their advice, while other Christian groups described the film as "faith friendly" and some even declaring that the character of Gandalf was a Christ-like figure (presumably these groups thought it best not to bring up his homosexuality).