The church is a central theme of Philip Pullman's acclaimed novel Northern Lights, but there is no mention of it in a new blockbuster Hollywood adaptation.

The Golden Compass, a $US180 million ($204 million) picture to be released on December 7, is caught between a US Catholic group that has called for a boycott of what it sees as an attack on religion and Pullman purists who do not want the original watered down.

The US-based Catholic League has urged Christians not to see the movie, fearing even a diluted version of the book might draw people to read the best-selling "His Dark Materials" trilogy.

Calling Pullman "a noted English atheist," the group said on its website: "It is his objective to bash Christianity and promote atheism. To kids.

"Though the movie promises to be fairly non-controversial, it may very well act as an inducement to buy Pullman's trilogy, 'His Dark Materials'."