Why would they do this?

According to this report, the film starring Elliott, Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, angered Catholics who accused it of promoting atheism.

The production company, New Line, had said the making of the second and third films was dependent on the financial success of The Golden Compass. The movie had a budget of $180million (£110million) and made $380million (£234million).

Asked what happened to the series, Elliot said:

The Catholic Church happened to The Golden Compass, as far as I’m concerned. It did incredible’at the box office, taking $380million. Incredible. It took $85million in the States. The Catholic Church … lambasted them, and I think it scared New Line off.

its funny how in 2013 those crackpots can still influence anything

They are only responsible in the sense that constant pressure from the execs to "tone" down the very point of the novel. They were afraid if it wasn't toned back it wouldn't do well in the U.S.
That's what really hurt any chance of a sequel or trilogy. Had they not gutted the very premise, it would've done better. If a movie doesn't recoup in the US, then it's generally a flop even if it can pull in a profit internationally. Remember, the pope said harry potter would corrupt the christian faith(which is funny because pope john paul II once praised both the author and the series, while benedict XVI went on a rant about it, as well as ratzinger) and twilight was a moral vacuum with a deviant message.

Surprising? No.
Shameful? Yes.

atheism >