Religious Influence

[Legolas]

i think christianity had a lot to do with lotr. there are so many paralells!

[Legolas]

do you think that the stories would be different if he were a jew or muslim or buddhist?

[Ilúvatar]

I think Tolkien's religion (Christianity) played a part in how he wrote the books and his thought process.

I do not think that he created an allegory (ie Gandalf = Christ).

Just some of my thoughts.

[Gothmog]

I like to think that it played an important part.

[Legolas]

i know that tolkien created all of the lotr characters to have faults (i.e. not like jesus), but also "not everything was evil in the beginning". the devil desired power over god. just like sauron/melkor desired power over middle earth.

[starcrystal]

I posted my ideas about this on the Silmarillion thread, but yes, he was certainly influenced by Christianity.

[Legolas]

i think it would've been different if he were muslim or buddhist or another religion.

[lotrgurl452]

yes. i think that his religion christianity had to do a very important part in the sucess of his books. to me it does seem that there are some simularitiys to the bible and things. well thats my ansewer!

[Olorin]

I think religion played a big role in Tolkien's life and in the writing and ispiration of LOTR.

Here is a link to an interesting article/interview I came across on the subject.

The Bible As 'The Ultimate Fairy Tale'
A Tolkien expert explains how for the creator of hobbits, a tree was never just a tree.

www.beliefnet.com/story/95/story_9572_1.html

[Uilos]

ohh yes, i definatly think that christianity played a big role in the creation of LOTR as it played a huge role in tolkiens life. i read a book, i don't know if any of you would find it interesting. its called ' the magical world of the lord of the rings' by david colbert. it is all about tolkiens influences. in one chapter called 'do hobbits believe in god?' it explains many parrallels.
OMG i just typed up the whole chapter and then i delited it
well i spose you'll just have to order it from amozon for bout $10 if you want to read it, it woth reading thought, very interseting and explains a lot of what you read in LOTR .
well i just thought that you lot might find it as interseting as i did, as you all have sucha keen intrset in tolkins and LOTR.
ohhh im still upset i just delited the whole chapter i wrote up for you to read about tolkien's infulence through his religion. it took me sooooooo long. im jus gunna cry now........ ...............

[Earendur]

^that is a good book^

I read it and was happy when i read it. I belive Christianity had a big part in the story, but it was not an alagory, Tolkien said it himself, he said he "hates alagories of every kind".

[Haerodiel]

The is NO WAY that he could have gotten that close to the story of creation and not have been infuenced by christianity! NO WAY what so ever!!

[Lomadia]

nazgul said:

i think it would've been different if he were muslim or buddhist or another religion.

Agreed, but at the same time, I think that at the base of things, Tolkien was trying to create a mythology. Thus I think that what many people see as hints of Christianity (especially in the Silmarillion) are more like hints of the basic skeleton of any mythology, which is present in the teachings of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Amerindian religion, Scandinavian religion, and countless others.
A great book I'd definitely recommend skimming (or reading if you're familiar with religious and mythological terminology) is One Ring to Bing Them All: Tolkien's Mythology, by Anne C. Petty. Of particular interest to me was the appendix, in which Petty outlines the basic structure of a heroic quest in every mythology. It's fun to fit Tolkien (and other familiar heroic quests from religions and fairy tales) into this mold.