Even using the word, "Most," is speaking for people you don't know, and in my personal experience you are grossly overstating the case. I don't know a single person who decided not to see the film because they felt it, and the people who made it, were "pushing religion down people."
I don't know where you live, but if it's in the US I find it hard to believe that anyone you know really felt that way, either, although I fully admit that it is possible...just not probable.
And as I said in my qualification (in the later post), I'm specifically referring to Mel Gibson's personlly profitting off of the portrayal of the suffering of Christ. I find that beyond disgusting on so many levels (particularly the "Passion Nails" which are so abhorant that they're beyond description, but also because I honestly believe that Mel Gibson, like any director, is manipulating the world - and for so many other reasons which are personal and which I don't care to discuss...).
I honestly don't have problems with movies about Christ, or any religious figure, for that matter. They can be extremely educational, even uplifting, as long as they're done responsibly and in good taste (by responsibly I mean with as much historical accuracy as absolutely possible, and by good taste I do not necessarily mean without a portrayal of violence or sexuality - it all just depends). A movie that's supposed to be religiously controversial, like The Last Temptation of Christ, is also acceptable to me.
I'm talking about this film and this director.
All that being said, I do NOT judge the people who got a lot out of the film or felt that it was a deeply spiritual experience for them. I would not feel the same way, given both my background in film-making and my knowledge and experience with Christianity, but who am I to judge those I don't know?
My objection is to those who make judgements: who judge me as well as other strangers.
As I'm a moderator at FF I will refrain from further comments on the matter for the time being because I want to stay as impartial as possible; anything else I might say right now would possibly be too personal.
If anyone would like to send me a Private Message, regardless of what you have to say - it's okay with me if we don't agree - then please feel free to do so.