ABSTRACT
A self-professed atheist, Philip Pullman is known for his criticism of religious fundamentalism and ecclesiastical corruption. The His Dark Materials and Book of Dust series centre around the Magisterium, which caricatures certain features and abuses of the church in our own world at its worst. Even so, the series treats a number of themes relevant to the study of science and religion, and may serve as a conversation partner. The role of literature as a mediator between science and religion is demonstrated through an examination of innocence and experience in relation to sin and evolution, panpsychism, and the relationship between reason and imagination. Pullman's ‘secret commonwealth’ invites us into a world that is hospitable for science and religion discourse.
