There is something to be said about differening worldviews that colors our
perceptions of worlds, even fantastical ones. Tolkien, as we know, was a very
devout Catholic, and his religious beliefs color his world in every detail he
made. This results in a number of recurring themes, such as death and
immortality, the self-destructive nature of evil, the hirearchical structure of
authority, and the morality of serving a rightful leader merely because (s)he
is the rightful leader. A number of questions come up, however, as to the
nature of why
1. But is this all because Tolkien was Catholic, or merely because he
wanted consistency between his world and his theology?
2. How should non-Christians approach Tolkien? Are his books supposed to be
read by non-Christians? Should those who are not Christian even approach
Tolkien's books?
3. Some non-Catholics (and perhaps some other Catholics) may desire to envision
what is contained in some of the more heavily religiously-colored books (e.g.
the Sil) in a different way than Tolkien himself does. Should
they?
