The series was originally commissioned by BBC Three in the United Kingdom, but was dropped from scheduling without a screening in the wake of protests from Roman Catholics.

The Archbishop of Munich and the parliamentary leader of the conservative CSU party in Bavaria demanded criminal prosecution of those responsible for the series under § 166 of the Penal Code, the "blasphemy clause".

Supporters of the series brought forward the argument that Popetown cannot be forbidden, just as the Muhammad cartoons are allowed for reasons of press freedom.

The series has yet to be broadcast or released on DVD in the United States, but it has spread by word of mouth, YouTube, and file sharing networks.

In the 20 April 2006 edition of his weekly column, Parents Television and Media Council founder L. Brent Bozell wrote an article criticizing Viacom for airing this anti-Christian series on MTV Germany as well as allowing a scene defacing Jesus Christ in the episode of the American animated series South Park, "Cartoon Wars Part II".

In response, MTV series director Marius Veselis accused Lithuania of unmasking itself as a "sort of half-medieval, half-communist, sick culture".