Adding to the growing clamour and criticism against the controversial film, a Cincinnati Bishop is calling on Americans to boycott the film, describing it as an assault on the sacrament of marriage.
According to the Christian Post, Archbishop Dennis Schnurr has asked his parishioners not to go and see the film, which opened in US theatres on Friday.
"This movie is in direct contrast to the Christian message of God's design for self-giving and self-sacrificing love, marriage and sexual intimacy," the Archbishop warned his flock. "The movie is a direct assault on Christian marriage and on the moral and spiritual strength of God's people."
The Archbishop then expressed the need for an information and awareness campaign to warn people about the "destructive" message that the film promotes and to highlight "highlight the beauty of God's design for loving relationships between a husband and wife in the bond of marriage."
The film, which is based on the 2011 novel by EL James, tells the story of businessman Christian Grey and college student Anastacia Steele. In the novel and the film, the two characters are engaged in a sexual relationship that involves domination, sadism and bondage.
The film's premise garnered criticisms from both religious and secular groups. A coalition comprising of news organisation LifeSiteNews, the groups National Center on Sexual Exploitation and the Family Research Council, and the website Counter Cultured spoke out this week against the film and also called for a boycott.
"The film sets a particularly dangerous example for younger viewers, who may not understand that attractive, charismatic young billionaire Christian Grey is also an abusive sociopath, especially since victim/narrator Anastasia Steele continually describes and portrays him as a god," the group's joint statement said.
The group also criticised NBC for capitalising on Valentine's Day, noting that the relationship between the two characters is "anything but caring or loving."
The film is the first of a planned trilogy of films based on EL James' popular but controversial series of novels.
