‘Da Vinci Code’ undermines beliefs, response group says in poll release
I have yet to catch this show but I have read the book, dun really believe much of it though many say it contains certain amount of truth. Well, leave this to your faith...
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5/17/2006
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
LONDON (Catholic Online) – Reading The Da Vinci Code has had a dramatic impact in undermining belief in Catholic Church doctrine and the movie of the same name should contain a “health warning,” said a group that drew upon the results of its commissioned survey of Britons.
SOUTH KOREAN CHRISTIANS PICKET OUTSIDE THEATER – South Korean Christians picket in front of a theater advertising "The Da Vinci Code" movie in Seoul May 18. The slogans on the signs read "The content of 'The Da Vinci Code' is not a fact," and "'The Da Vinci Code' is no more than fiction." (CNS/Reuters)
Those reading the novel are twice as likely to believe the book’s central tenet that Jesus Christ fathered children and four times as likely to see the Catholic organization, Opus Dei, as a murderous sect, according to the Opinion Research Business poll released May 16, 2006, by The Da Vinci Code Response Group.
The ad hoc group, coordinated by Austen Ivereigh, director for public affairs of the Archdiocese of Westminster here, includes as members a Benedictine abbot, priests and lay people working in communications, theologians and academics and Opus Dei members.
A total of five questions were asked of a nationally representative sample of more than 1,000 adults during the weekend of May 13 and 14.
The survey underscored the novel’s popularity, with more than one in five adults (22 percent) in Britain reading it.
But it also demonstrated the vulnerability of millions to author Dan Brown’s mixture of fact and fiction, The Da Vinci Code Response Group said in a statement, accusing Brown of a dishonest marketing strategy based on peddling fiction as fact.
Of those questioned in the poll, 60 percent who had read the book believed there was truth to the suggestion that Mary Magdalene bore children of Jesus, compared with 30 percent of those who believe that but had not read the book.
Of those who have read the book, almost one in three (32 percent) think the Priory of Sion is a real medieval organization, a figure which falls to just 6 percent among non-readers. The Priory of Sion was a 20th hoax that the author has suggested at the beginning of the novel exists and was a real medieval organization.
“Our poll shows that for many, many people The Da Vinci Code is not just entertainment,” Ivereigh said. “For many it is just fiction. But an alarming number of people take its spurious claims very seriously indeed.”
The response group said that the survey results support its claim for that Sony Pictures include a disclaimer at the beginning of the film.
The film, which was shown to journalists in Cannes, France, May 16, and is to be released worldwide on May 19, does not include any such warning.
“From the start, the marketing strategy behind The Da Vinci Code has been to claim that it is based on respected theories,” Ivereigh said. “Brown and Sony 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.”
The Da Vinci Code Response Group said that there is some reassurance for the Catholic Church in the survey, with just more than half (52 percent) of all respondents and 50 percent of those who read the book saying that they did not believe that it had covered up the truth about Jesus Christ.
But among the remainder, those who had read the book were more likely (36 percent) than those who hadn’t read it (25 percent) to believe the church was engaged in a 2,000-year conspiracy to cover up the truth.
Asked if they thought whether the Catholic organization Opus Dei had ever ordered or carried out a murder, 17 percent of readers believe it has, compared with just 4 percent of non-readers.
Jack Valero, spokesman for Opus Dei UK, described it as an “astonishing” statistic.
“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.”
“We have been saying that the Da Vinci Code is harmless fun as long as you don’t take it seriously,” Ivereigh added. “But it will be hard for Catholics to enjoy the film knowing that hundreds of thousands do take it seriously.”
The Da Vinci Code Response Group, in an early May statement, said that claims the book is based on “facts and respectable theories” have led to the deception of many people that “is likely to be reinforced by the film” version.
“The Da Vinci Code is fiction trading as fact,” the group said, adding that the book “is fun and harmless in so far as it is treated as fiction.”
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5/17/2006
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
LONDON (Catholic Online) – Reading The Da Vinci Code has had a dramatic impact in undermining belief in Catholic Church doctrine and the movie of the same name should contain a “health warning,” said a group that drew upon the results of its commissioned survey of Britons.
SOUTH KOREAN CHRISTIANS PICKET OUTSIDE THEATER – South Korean Christians picket in front of a theater advertising "The Da Vinci Code" movie in Seoul May 18. The slogans on the signs read "The content of 'The Da Vinci Code' is not a fact," and "'The Da Vinci Code' is no more than fiction." (CNS/Reuters)
Those reading the novel are twice as likely to believe the book’s central tenet that Jesus Christ fathered children and four times as likely to see the Catholic organization, Opus Dei, as a murderous sect, according to the Opinion Research Business poll released May 16, 2006, by The Da Vinci Code Response Group.
The ad hoc group, coordinated by Austen Ivereigh, director for public affairs of the Archdiocese of Westminster here, includes as members a Benedictine abbot, priests and lay people working in communications, theologians and academics and Opus Dei members.
A total of five questions were asked of a nationally representative sample of more than 1,000 adults during the weekend of May 13 and 14.
The survey underscored the novel’s popularity, with more than one in five adults (22 percent) in Britain reading it.
But it also demonstrated the vulnerability of millions to author Dan Brown’s mixture of fact and fiction, The Da Vinci Code Response Group said in a statement, accusing Brown of a dishonest marketing strategy based on peddling fiction as fact.
Of those questioned in the poll, 60 percent who had read the book believed there was truth to the suggestion that Mary Magdalene bore children of Jesus, compared with 30 percent of those who believe that but had not read the book.
Of those who have read the book, almost one in three (32 percent) think the Priory of Sion is a real medieval organization, a figure which falls to just 6 percent among non-readers. The Priory of Sion was a 20th hoax that the author has suggested at the beginning of the novel exists and was a real medieval organization.
“Our poll shows that for many, many people The Da Vinci Code is not just entertainment,” Ivereigh said. “For many it is just fiction. But an alarming number of people take its spurious claims very seriously indeed.”
The response group said that the survey results support its claim for that Sony Pictures include a disclaimer at the beginning of the film.
The film, which was shown to journalists in Cannes, France, May 16, and is to be released worldwide on May 19, does not include any such warning.
“From the start, the marketing strategy behind The Da Vinci Code has been to claim that it is based on respected theories,” Ivereigh said. “Brown and Sony 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.”
The Da Vinci Code Response Group said that there is some reassurance for the Catholic Church in the survey, with just more than half (52 percent) of all respondents and 50 percent of those who read the book saying that they did not believe that it had covered up the truth about Jesus Christ.
But among the remainder, those who had read the book were more likely (36 percent) than those who hadn’t read it (25 percent) to believe the church was engaged in a 2,000-year conspiracy to cover up the truth.
Asked if they thought whether the Catholic organization Opus Dei had ever ordered or carried out a murder, 17 percent of readers believe it has, compared with just 4 percent of non-readers.
Jack Valero, spokesman for Opus Dei UK, described it as an “astonishing” statistic.
“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.”
“We have been saying that the Da Vinci Code is harmless fun as long as you don’t take it seriously,” Ivereigh added. “But it will be hard for Catholics to enjoy the film knowing that hundreds of thousands do take it seriously.”
The Da Vinci Code Response Group, in an early May statement, said that claims the book is based on “facts and respectable theories” have led to the deception of many people that “is likely to be reinforced by the film” version.
“The Da Vinci Code is fiction trading as fact,” the group said, adding that the book “is fun and harmless in so far as it is treated as fiction.”
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