Tolkien, the Practicing Catholic: The Early Letters
Tolkien, the Practicing Catholic: The Early Letters

Summary/Abstract: The present paper investigates a hitherto unknown face of J. R. R. Tolkien: Tolkien, the practicing Catholic. The analysis of his works, mainly that of The Lord of the Rings by minutious scholarly work as well as his own lines about the “fundamentally religious” conception of it makes it clear that Tolkien had an overall religious worldview which determined to a considerable extent the creation of his works. A great amount of research has been made and is being made to uncover all the implications of Tolkien’s faith into his works. However, the actual religious practices of his everyday life have been left uncovered yet. This paper attempts to provide a brief glance into by examining Tolkien’s early Letters, using the selection edited by Humphrey Carpenter.

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