Given that I’ve voiced some criticisms of religion in the past, and that various Christian groups have expressed their criticisms of me, it might be that whatever I said on the subject would be hostile in any case.” He smiled. At the lectern, he began, “Quite what prompted you to ask me to talk about religious education I can’t immediately see.

Pullman is a rangy, spirited man in his fifties with a bristling fringe of gray hair at times, he resembles an intelligent and amused stork. In the trilogy, a young girl, Lyra Belacqua, becomes enmeshed in an epic struggle against a nefarious Church known as the Magisterium another character, an ex-nun turned particle physicist named Mary Malone, describes Christianity as “a very powerful and convincing mistake.” Pullman once told an interviewer that “every single religion that has a monotheistic god ends up by persecuting other people and killing them because they don’t accept him.” Peter Hitchens, a conservative British columnist, published an article about Pullman entitled “This Is the Most Dangerous Author in Britain,” in which he called him the writer “the atheists would have been praying for, if atheists prayed.” Nevertheless, the selection of Pullman was surprising: he is one of England’s most outspoken atheists.

In his books, fantasy is a springboard for exploring cosmic questions about the purpose of human life and the nature of the universe.

In some ways, Pullman was a natural choice for the lecture: he was born in Norwich, where his grandfather was an Anglican parish priest, and the university, which is renowned for its creative-writing program, has given him an honorary degree. The speaker, Philip Pullman, is fervently admired for his sophisticated trilogy of children’s novels called, collectively, “His Dark Materials.” In Britain, his books have sold millions of copies, and his often contentious essays on subjects ranging from censorship to education-“We need to ensure that children are not forced to waste their time on barren rubbish” is a typical declaration-appear regularly in the London papers.

This year, the auditorium was filled, and another room, with a video feed, had to be set up for those who couldn’t fit into the main hall. Sometimes, a prominent bishop is asked to deliver a lecture, but, as a rule, the event isn’t exactly a big draw. Every year at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich, England, a guest is invited to speak on the subject of religion and education.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman