Churches in Britain are divided over whether to allow filming of Dan Brown’s bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code. The Westminster Abbey has said no, but Lincoln Cathedral and a Scottish chapel have both said that they are happy to allow the filming to proceed at their venues.

The Roman Catholic Church has strongly protested against the novel’s claim that Jesus Christ had a child with Mary Magdalene. The city of Lincoln has shown its discontent for the movie. "To a believer, any believer, what is happening is blasphemous," said Sister Mary Michael, a woman who held a solo prayer vigil outside the cathedral.

The movie was being filmed in Lincoln on Tuesday with Tom Hanks. Lincoln’s head of the cathedral, Rev. Alec Knight, defended the decision to allow filming but agreed the novel was far fetched and heretical.

In the film directed by Ron Howard, the cathedral in Lincoln accepted a reported US$180,000 to act as Westminster Abbey for the filming. "It has clearly touched the public imagination, and the church needs to open up a debate about it rather than throw one’s hands up and walk away from it," Knight said.

The cathedral had received a donation but Knight refused to reveal how much. Sony Pictures also refused to comment on any donation to the cathedral.

The Da Vinci Code, published two years ago, is a mix of code-breaking, art history, religion and mystical myth, and has sold over 25 million copies. But the book’s claim that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had descendants, has offended many Christians.

"The church should not be accepting money for something that is not a true story. They should be praying more, and then the money would come in," said protester Sister Mary Michael.

The local Catholic diocese said it had no record of Sister Mary on its books and that it did not recognise the order. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, a former Vatican official called on Catholics to boycott the book, saying that it espoused heresy.

In one of the climactic scenes of the book, it features the Chapter House of 1,000 year old Westminster Abbey in London, where British monarchs are crowned and buried. But earlier this year, the Abbey turned down the approach from producers to film there, saying that it would be "inappropriate" to allow it.

In a statement, the Abbey said: "Although it is a fine page-turner, we cannot commend or endorse the contentious and wayward religious and historic suggestions made in the book — nor its views of Christianity and the New Testament."

But Winchester Cathedral in southern England and Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh have given permission to film later this year.