“The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously so in the revision. The connections between The Lord of the Rings and Christianity are numerous. I believed from a young age that religions are simply stories. "[T 1] And that, if you might've guessed, is no coincidence. We could easily refer to March 25th as the most important date of all history, both in our own world and in the history of Middle-Earth. This paper 'Religion in The Lord of the Rings" focuses on the fact that J.R.R. 0218 – Lord of the Rings & Religion Hence it cannot adopt an explicit Christianity. "He once described The Lord of the Rings to his friend, the English Jesuit Father Robert Murray, as "a fundamentally religious and Catholic work, unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like ‘religion,’ to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. Tolkien created Middle-Earth with painstaking detail and wove importance and hidden meaning into nearly every There is a connection symbolically between the One Ring and Original Sin and, therefore, between … Updated: May 6, 2020. Someone sharing their religious beliefs to convert you, or convince you to agree with their beliefs just wasn’t the norm. The Ainulindalë is the name of the first part of Silmarillion. It would have been similar to someone explaining how The Lord of the Rings is a true story, and that they pray to Gandolf as their god. Tolkien described The Lord of the Rings as “a fundamentally religious and Catholic work.” Is it possible to summarize this dimension of Tolkien’s magnum opus in fewer than 600 words? Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy is set in a pre-Christian world. The White Tree of Gondor, with its seven stars and seven stones, represents the connection between the people of Gondor (men) and the Elves. No, the premise of this question is incorrect and unfortunately, some who answer it also fails to distinguish the context of the story and the in-universe history. You better believe it! I surmise that The Lord of the Rings became so widely accepted in the Christian community merely because Tolkien claimed Christianity (Catholicism) as his religion and because some persist in seeing the story as a veiled Christian allegory. Religion simply wasn’t a topic that came up in typical conversation. Religious Symbols in The Lord of the Rings The White Tree of Gondor. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has always been a highly regarded book among fans and StudentShare Our website is a unique platform where students can share their papers in a matter of giving an example of the work to be done. Nonetheless it can, and does, shadow Christianity just as the Old Testament pre-shadowed the New, although admittedly Tolkien's is a post-view set as a pre-view. We’re discussing our listener feedback on our recent episodes “Lord of the Rings & Religion” and “Is Middle-earth Pagan?” This episode is executive produced by Kaitlyn of Tea With Tolkien, Liis U, and Andrew T. 0222 – Is Middle-earth Pagan? Reading Religion in Lord of the Rings.