Public Research: Religion - What Confession Do You Belong to?

[Esgallhugwen]

I chose "other", simply because I'm Pagan. I wasn't really raised as anything and was only baptised as a Catholic so I could stay in a Catholic school. My mom was open to various religious practices, and when she started to practice Paganism I found an absolute interest in the more nature based religion (must be the Elf in me talking). After a few years my mom decided to steer her course more towards Buddhism. I stayed happily with my newfound Pagan beliefs (or to some I suppose Wicca is the term, but that word to me is founded with many flaky people who sit around bashing Christianity, something I couldn't be bothered with), after all this way of believing called to me very strongly.

I suppose my faith could have affected the way I read the Silm, the Hobbit and LOR. But I truly think that if I was capable of comprehending the written language at a younger age I would still feel the same with or without religion. With religion I can simply make parallels between the books and Paganism. After all I'm incredibly fond of nature and the sense of peace it gives me that nothing else can, aside from I suppose death.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I'm one of the atheists. If I had never been a part of the Barrow-Downs, I'm not sure I would have believed that so much could be said about religion and Tolkien's works. That should show how much it means to me when I read the book.

[Gil-Galad]

for me its Roman Catholic due to my mothers french heritage though my father is a Lutheran...

[Lalaith]

We're a rather fascinating bunch, we Others.
Pagans, Mormons, agnostics, lapsed choir-girls....we must all go out for a drink sometime.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Lalaith

We're a rather fascinating bunch, we Others.
Pagans, Mormons, agnostics, lapsed choir-girls....we must all go out for a drink sometime.

Of course we might end up glassing one another...... I like that " lapsed choir-girl" .. I have always thought it was unfair that you only seemed able to be a lapse Catholic...not a lapsed Protestant.. I know Anglacanism is a very broad church but still

[Amanaduial the archer]

I have always thought it was unfair that you only seemed able to be a lapse Catholic...not a lapsed Protestant.. I know Anglacanism is a very broad church but still

Well, I guess the founding of the Church of England kinda was one big lapse...

[AbercrombieOfRohan]

I voted 'other' simply because I've no idea what my story would fall under. So, here it goes:

Both of my parents were raised in Rhode Island as strict Catholics (I don't anything about the divisions within the church, so sorry if I'm oversimplifying things or leaving parts out.) And then came the teenage years, (They've known each other forever and grew up right down the street) and they sort of disowned the church and goofed off and became hippies. Then after they had finished college, they met up again at a Grateful Dead concert in Wisconsin (both of them were driving crappy old VW cars, one a Rabbit and one a bus.) and fell in love. (awww...) After they got married and had me, we were living in the mountains of California with no electricity in a hippie commune. (I think we lived right down the road from the singer Neil Young.) I grew up on Peace, Love and Happiness. We used to go out in the woods late at night and eat dinner under the stars and climb the trees and sing songs. (I remember all of this very vaguely, but we have pictures complete with the tie-dyed cloth diapers, so it must be true!)

My parents were, and still are, very open about religion. They made it clear to us (my brother and I) that we could practice any religion we wanted to and they'd support us no matter what. And so I've grown up on a coalition of religions. I went to a Protestant church once or twice to see what it was like and I went to a Catholic church to see what the difference was. When I went to England, I attended mass in St. Paul's Cathedral, which is Anglican (I think) and when I travelled to Spain and Italy, I attended mass in a very different Catholic Cathedral than the one back home. Now, this would suggest a strong background in Christianity, but that's not it either. I've been to the temple with my Orthodox Jewish cousins and went to a Wiccan ______ (I'm unsure of the word) with my boyfriend's aunt. I also wanted to study Buddhism and then Hinduism for a short time, because of yoga.

Now, about how all this mumbo-jumbo effected my reading of Tolkien, well, I can honestly say that I've never once considered any sort of religious aspects while reading Tolkien for my leisure (reading it for class and for an essay was an entirely different matter.) I can clearly see where people could draw parallels between Tolkien and religion, but for me, it has never affected anything.

Sorry, for being so long-winded! Blame it on my boredom and procrastination.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Amanaduial the archer

Well, I guess the founding of the Church of England kinda was one big lapse...

But not one I feel personally...... and the Catholic church was in need of reform.

Anyway you forget that "my" variety of Anglicanism is the "I can't believe it's not Catholicism" one.....

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

as social surveys go, most of them are intended A. to help somebody to sell something B. to satisfy ‘scientific’ curiosity. As I’m not selling anything, this must be the latter case

A likely story. What's the pay like at HarperCollins these days?

[CaptainofDespair]

It seems we have quite a stew brewing here; with potatoes, turnips, carrots, cabbages, and little dashes of everything else (I burned pudding once, don't ask me to decide on the 'everything else').

I do love making everything into food...

Anyhow, to the topic. I myself would be a...Methodist...maybe. I've never been keen on going to church, or participating in religion on the whole. I always found it to be an interruption of a perfectly good Sunday morning coma (back in the good ol' days of being in my early teens). But, I do believe in God. And in some other tenants of Christianity in general. So, I would say I am a Christian in belief; nothing more, nothing less.

[JennyHallu]

Oooh....nice metaphor, Captain!!!

Now I'm going to spend my morning (what's left of it) deciding what religion corresponds to what vegetable. Maybe Christians are potatoes...ubiquitous, not particularly flavorful, and prone to mushiness when overcooked. BUT...you can make pretty much anything out of them, from plain milk soup to samosa (mmm, spicy). Endless variety, a single spud.

tee-hee. That metaphor works way too well for comfort.

[Roa_Aoife]

Indeed, the term Agnostic is absent from the list. An Agnostic is one who believes that a God does exist, but doesn't suscribe to any already prevalent view of God. (ie religion) Considering that Agnosticsm is a growing veiwpoint on the matter, it really should be covered.

[Orominuialwen]

I'm the daughter of an agnostic Reformed Jew and a lapsed until fairly recently and now semi-practicing Catholic. Until about 4 years ago I was pretty much agnostic, but culturally Jewish, like my father. I wanted to become a more practicing Jew, but my dad was very unsupportive. (He pretty much forbade me from getting a Bat Mitzvah.) A little over 4 years ago my mom went back to the Church after an absence of at least 20 years and my brother and I started going with her. At this point I am Catholic in my beliefs, but I'm not 'officially' Catholic. My brother and I were never baptized. We've been having catechism lessons for ~2 years in preparation to be baptized sometime in the fairly near future. I'm very active at my church and I sing in the choir and go to Mass every Sunday, along with my mom and brother. My dad comes once in a blue moon, but that's only to hear us sing, since he's a classical music afficianado. I pray the rosary fairly often. (A friend of ours gives holds a dinner & Rosary at his house one Friday a month and my mom, brother and I go.) In my family there are many Catholics (some more practicing more than others), an aunt and four cousins who are Orthodox Christian, and many Reformed Jews (again, practicing to different degrees). I checked Catholic in the poll because that's what I consider myself to be and I do plan to be baptized in the not-too-distant future. The majority of my friends from outside of church (i.e. those close to my own age) are either atheists or agnostic, but there is one semi-Unitarian (that's what she believes, but she's not a practicing one), a semi-practicing Lutheran, a non-practicing Catholic, a semi-practicing Reformed Jew (he goes to Synagogue with his parents, but is agnostic in his belief), and one friend who is Evangelical Covenant (Protestant Christian branch that broke off from Lutheranism several hundred years ago.) I also have a few friends who are Lutheran despite being very involved with my church.


I think Tolkien's works have shaped my faith. I first read LotR a few months after I started going to Mass and the themes portrayed in it, especially selflessness have really helped me. Also, it doesn't hurt that my catechism teacher is a huge LotR fan.

[Sleepy Ranger]

I am an atheist, make of that what you will. Tolkien has in no way affected my religion though I believe my own works have influenced my choice to quite an extent.

[Nurumaiel]

Miss Nurumaiel at your service, notorious amongst her acquaintances for being a Catholic who agrees with the Church on all matters, and strives to live up to all its doctrines faithfully, with no exceptions, and has gone so far to be seriously considering entering a convent... and not just any convent, but a convent of Poor Clares, who, aside from the usual vows of obedience and etc., take a vow of enclosure, which means they never go beyond the walls of their convent. And if that isn't enough, she wouldn't be doing it with a dreary heart, but with one terribly excited at the prospect! Oh, dear!

Ahem...

I come from a family of good Irish Catholics. My father is a 'cradle Catholic,' as it is said, and my mother converted to Catholicism shortly before I was born. They've always been very devout in their faith, as well as always being very intellectual about it. On account of that, I've never considered doubting my Faith. There only ever came I time when I wanted to know 'why,' but certainly not because I doubted. My parents could answer any question I had, and they introduced me to G.K. Chesterton, the man who ensured that my father remained a very devout Catholic. I was also introduced to quite a few Catholic apologists, their books, and their magazines, which I love to pour over in my spare time.

Not only did they ensure I remained Catholic through their reasoning in the whole matter, which fixed very firmly in my mind that one didn't need blind faith to be a Catholic, but that one could agree with what the Church taught because it had a reason to it, they also inspired my Faith in the love they showed me from it. It wasn't so long ago that I desperately wanted to be confirmed, firmly convinced that God wanted to give me those graces, though I was under the age that our diocese generally allowed. My parents went to no end of sacrifices to bring it about. They wrote numerous letters to our pastor and our bishop, met with various people to talk it over, and engaged a Canon Lawyer. It was an extremely stressful time, for aside from being denied again and again, Pope John Paul II was dying, and I felt entirely ready to crumble. When he died, my mother, my father, and I all asked him to be the patron saint of our cause, without any of us knowing that the others were asking the same. A few days later the opportunity was set before us to go to another country, where I could be confirmed by a very holy archbishop who had been a good friend to John Paul II. Needless to say, I was in tears of joy, and my father could only smile and say, "I think our Pope loves you very much. Look what he did for you, as soon as he arrived in Heaven." And, without a mumble or grumble, my parents took me all the way to another country so I could be confirmed, when everyone else considered the matter so important. And that's only one example of the love they've shown me on account of their Faith.

But, enough with the history, and testimony. That should suffice to make clear my loyalties!

Has my reading of Tolkien influenced my Faith in any way? Yes, I must say it has. His vivid and poetic descriptions of the valleys, the rivers, the mountains have all increased my appreciation for beauty, and the closer I grow to beauty, the closer I grow to my Faith. The nobility of his characters (Faramir, for instance), have inspired me with a greater love of nobility and virtue. I've always applied imagination to everything I've done, and that includes my Faith. When I was about ten years old I first was introduced to Don Quixote, as portrayed in the musical Man of La Mancha. For quite a few years I was a knight, the Blessed Virgin was my chosen lady, and God was the King I served. And in a similar fashion Tolkien helps me. It's always pleasant to think, after overcoming selfishness to perform some good deed, that perhaps I behaved as Faramir has. Or, on the days when it's particular hard to be faithful, to imagine myself as a wee hobbit climbing a great mountain with a terrible burden... that always encourages me.

And of course the life of Tolkien himself has inspired me.

So, yes, indeed Tolkien has had an influence on my Faith, and I thank him very much for it.

## I'm Catholic, and I've come to have more respect for Protestantism since I became Catholic. I think mutual understanding and dialogue is terribly important.

C.S. Lewis has had far more effect on my thinking than Tolkien (so far as I can judge) - but then, I discovered Lewis' books long before Tolkien's (whose influence had nothing to do with my becoming Catholic, BTW) ##

[zifnab]

Originally Posted by Nurumaiel

When I was about ten years old I first was introduced to Don Quixote, as portrayed in the musical Man of La Mancha. For quite a few years I was a knight, the Blessed Virgin was my chosen lady, and God was the King I served.

I’m not too familiar with the musical (Man of La Mancha), but the novel by Miguel De Cervantes (the edition I own is translated by Edith Grossman) portrays Don Quixote as a man who has lost all his ability to separate reality from fiction. Even though in his heart he believes entirely that he is doing a ‘chivalric’ deed to humanity (mostly in the name of Dulcinea of Toboso first, and God second). In many ways innocent people are victimized by these acts. And evil men are turned free. Is the musical different in any aspect? Your post was good and I'm interested to hear more.

Back to the topic. I was raised Catholic, but I'm not a very good one anymore. Curiosity killed the cat? Curiosity killed my religion.

[ninja91]

As a Roman Catholic, I always notice similarities between the Bible and Tolkien, who was a Catholic too. It is pretty cool sometimes. And if I recall correctly, C.S. Lewis was an atheist, but studied Christianity, and Christianity is the #1 parallel of his works, The Chronicles of Narnia.
Anyway, raised Catholic, but I dont think I have to go to church every Sunday. I love God... but I would not say no to an afternoon spent listening to Zeppelin in bed.
Either way, I do think that Tolkien has influenced the strength of my faith in God. The way he tells his stories and the way that he lived his life are definitely a model for me.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by ninja91

As a Roman Catholic, I always notice similarities between the Bible and Tolkien, who was a Catholic too. It is pretty cool sometimes. And if I recall correctly, C.S. Lewis was an atheist, but studied Christianity, and Christianity is the #1 parallel of his works, The Chronicles of Narnia.
Anyway, raised Catholic, but I dont think I have to go to church every Sunday. I love God... but I would not say no to an afternoon spent listening to Zeppelin in bed.

If I recall correctly, C.S.Lewis believed later due to Tolkien's influence.

Originally Posted by Tolkien's Diary

"Friendship with Lewis compensates for much, and besides giving constant pleasure and comfort has done me much good from the contact with a man at once honest, brave, intellectual—a scholar, a poet, and a philosopher—and a lover, at least after a long pilgrimage, of our Lord."

Anyway, concerning me... I was raised atheist, but nowadays I am a Protestant. Not that these divisions mean anything to me - I just consider myself a part of the Body of Christ. And I love God, which is the main thing, even if there were no church.