Though we have been told in class to trust the tale and not the teller, I found it hard after hearing about all of the controversy in the news to not think about Pullman's religious views while reading the book. Since I am not religious, I personally did not find it offensive, but I can see how someone of the Christian religion would. The church and God are the bad guys. If I worshipped a being that someone else portrayed as being a coward who tricks his followers I would probably be upset. Then again, other authors have written books that contain witches or mythological gods/creatures or people who travel to other universes, and no one makes a big deal about those stories. I think it is just human nature to get overly excited about any hint of controversy.
To be agnostic means that you are simply skeptical about rather God exists, it does not involve claiming true atheism. An atheist is one who believes there is no deity. I don't think Pullman's intentions were to change the world's mind about religion. It was just good material for a good book. As a side note, it is interesting that the gnostic gospels are a collection of writings about the teachings of Jesus. And gnosis is the "practical spirituality at the base of all religions."
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