Kevin Smith Still Surprised by Religious Protests Against 'Dogma' After All These Years

Published: June 5, 2025

It's been 25 years since Kevin Smith's religious-bent fantasy comedy 'Dogma' premiered, and the filmmaker is still surprised by the backlash from Catholic groups.

Smith, who sat down with PEOPLE, expressed his astonishment at the protests, saying, "I am no agent provocateur, so I didn't make Dogma to thumb my nose in somebody who has faith. This was my expression of faith, man."

The movie, which follows Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as fallen angels, was met with protests from the Catholic League, who sent 400,000 pieces of hate mail and three death threats. Smith recalled the experience, saying, "It made no sense. This is a movie with a rubber poop monster in it."

Despite the backlash, Smith is re-releasing 'Dogma' in theaters, and so far, there have been no protests. Smith notes, "So far, we have not had the experience that we had in 1999, which has been absolutely wonderful."

Smith, who has since parted ways with the Catholic Church, argues that 'Dogma' is actually a reverent film. He remembers the tightened security at the Cannes Film Festival premiere and the massive protest at the New York Film Festival, saying, "Looked like about a thousand people praying the rosary. Those were trying times."

However, this time around, Smith is finding the exact reaction he wanted audiences to have. He adds, "The kid who made this movie, this was his expression of faith. This was his idea of church. Like imagine if church was this fun as opposed to when we go to church every week, and it sounds like we're celebrating our faith instead of mourning it."

Smith is also whimsying about a sequel, writing from the perspective of someone who doesn't have faith anymore. He says, "Now in 2025, that's how it plays every night. It's a party. The audience is very loud. Every time somebody comes out on screen, they're howling and cheering; it's like 'chicken jockey' for middle-aged people, but nobody gets egged."

'Dogma' is back in theaters June 5.

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