Can atheists appreciate/understand Lord of the Ring?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by demnation

Characters certainly aren't going around praying to the Valar or anything.

Not as a formal action, no. But I think prayers are indeed present in LOTR.

When attacked by the Witch-king on Weathertop, Frodo cries:

O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!

In The Two Towers, when Faramir's men Mablung and Damrod see the Oliphaunt, we see Damrod saying:

'May the Valar turn him aside! Mûmak! Mûmak!'

The sense of that one, to be fair, might be more akin to a 'Lord help us!' as spoken today; an exited utterance in fear.

However, when facing Shelob alone, Sam resorts to Elbereth again:

Gilthoniel A Elbereth!

And to escape the Watchers at the Tower of Cirith Ungol, Sam again, in desperation, cries:

'Gilthoniel, A Elbereth!'

I think prayers to the Valar, Ilúvatar's governors in Arda, were not uncommon with the Eldar, and apparently not to the Númenóreans in exile either.
At Henneth Annûn, Faramir and his men stand facing west for a moment of silence, as Faramir explains:

'So we always do,' he said as they sat down. 'We look towards Númenor that was, and beyond to Elvenhome that is, and to that which is beyond Elvenhome and ever will be.'

Originally Posted by demnation

Miracles.....maybe, but only a few. Unless you were talking about subtext, in which case I would say it's debatable!

If by 'miracle' you mean something unexpected that accomplishes a great good, I think the book is rife with them. It seems to be a running theme that the players in the story are being directed by something other than their own conscious thoughts and goals, and that Purpose brings good from evil.