In ''Stigmata,'' Patricia Arquette was plagued by Christ-like blood-oozing wounds. The Catholic Church's existence was challenged, without irony or humor. And a cardinal was shown trying to strangle Arquette. But protest against this rip-off of "The Exorcist" came mostly from critics offended by its crimes against taste and imagination. There was barely a murmur from the religious Thought Police.

In "Dogma," Linda Fiorentino is a lapsed Catholic working in an abortion clinic who is beckoned by God's sardonic mouthpiece (Alan Rickman) to stop two rogue angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) from entering a New Jersey church and ending life as we know it. Though religious mythology and propriety are kicked around like soccer balls (a cardinal, played by George Carlin, is shown putting golf balls into a sacramental cup), this goofy, exuberant movie ends up embracing faith, with a capital F.

Nevertheless, writer-director Kevin Smith, the lapsed comic-book artist and practicing Catholic best known for his ribald, slacker comedies-of-manners "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy," has gotten a taste of what may lie in store when "Dogma" opens nationwide Friday. Its screening at the recent New York Film Festival prompted demonstrations by Christian fundamentalists whose only knowledge of the film is what they've read about it.

The original idea was to avoid conflict in the first place. Disney-owned Miramax produced "Dogma," as it had Smith's previous films. Recognizing the hot-potato potential of a movie that mixes theology with masturbation and poo-poo jokes, Miramax honchos Harvey and Bob Weinstein bought "Dogma" out of their own pockets and sold it to Lions Gate Films, the distributor behind such controversial films as "Buffalo '66" and "Gods and Monsters."

Protest can backfire.

But the word is, as they say, out on "Dogma." And while its hip, high-powered cast -- which also includes Chris Rock as the 13th Apostle, Salma Hayek as Serendipity and Smith and Jason Mewes reprising their "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy" roles as slackmeisters Jay and Silent Bob -- would be enough to guarantee interest, the movie's box office only can be helped by the controversy.

"The Catholic Church isn't taking a stance on it [at] all," Smith said. "No. 1, because movies are kinda evil, I suppose. But the church is smart enough to know that if you don't want to call attention to something, you don't point at it, screeching, 'Don't look at this!'

"The Catholic League, on the other hand, has been going after Disney for years, and if calling attention to the movie means calling attention to itself, so be it. 'Stigmata' practically gets a pass because it's not a Disney film, and I'm sure that if Lions Gate had this film from the get-go, there would have been no brouhaha over it at all."

Many of the critics who have seen "Dogma" at its festival screenings have commented more on its talkiness than its theology. Characters in Smith's movies always talk a lot, but the impression is that this time they talk even more than usual. Smith confirmed that impression.

"What can I say?" he shrugged. "In other movies, they don't have to talk too much. In mine, unfortunately, they do, because I'm not a gifted filmmaker. No one thinks of well-directed visual movies when they think of mine. I'm a writer who has to direct his own stuff. And, yeah, it's because I'm in love with language.

"But in this instance you need a lot more exposition and dialogue because you can't presuppose that everybody knows about Catholicism. So they talk a lot. It's what I do."

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