Delidia began this thread with the following post.



Valedhelgwath replied

If you do not have a copy of the Silmarillion at hand, I recommend you have a plough through the first assignment in the Silmarillion Reading Discussion Group thread. This topic was discussed in great detail in that section.

A very brief answer for you is yes there is religion. There is Eru (very similar to God), and the Ainur (kind of like demi-gods, Angels etc).

The first chapter of the Silmarillion describes the creation of Ea (the world in which Middle Earth is but one continent).

Also, if you are really interested there is a book called Finding God in the Lord of the Rings. I can't remember who the postAuthorID is at the moment. I will look it up for you and let you know.


Ok, I found it. The postAuthorID is by Bruner, Kurt D. and the SKU is 0842355715

[Edited on 2/25/2003 by MelliotSandybanks]

ghhhh

If that is a laugh or a grunt of satisfaction Baker, then Welcome to our forum. If it is a gag, well then ...

LOL. I dont exactly remember what my first post was. I used to hate the forums. NO, hate is a strong word. I used to dislike the forums. But now i love 'em!

I dont't think that they have a religion in the sense that they worship a god or many but I think of it as more of a governmental system as there is one person in the place of highest postAuthorIDity who is in charge, there are then the Ainur rule as his enforcers (accept when things get tough [numenor]).
Tolkien was a devout Catholic and if there is any hint to a religion in the books it is because he meant it to reflect his own religion (at least that is what I beleive to be true). I just remember reading somewhere that there was not meant to be a god in LOTR or in the histories but that it was meant to reflect the religion of christianity as well as catholisism.

IMHO Tolkien didn't delete God from his world, he just didn't add any organized religions. And I'm very happy he didn't.

Since the beginning of time, organized religions have been used by one group of God's children to put down another group of God's children to the detriment of both. Because he didn't want this age old conflict to get in the way of his story telling, he decided to build his world with no rabble rousing priests or clerics of any kind.

If any of his characters practiced any kind of religion, it was a very personal thing which they did in private, one-on-one with their God and was never shared with others.

You may also have noticed that Tolkien's characters never ruminated their internal thoughts which make them more enjoyable for me to read. Characters like Thomas Covenant, Ishmael, and Natty Bumpo were a pain in the neck to me; their pages of internal ramblings slowed down the action and I didn't give a darn about how much internal turmoil they went through in making their decisions. I wanted to find out what happened next, but then that is my personal preference. Is this a "guy" thing or just me?

(Would that last paragraph and any discussion be better moved under Author or has Delidia's question been run to ground?)

Grondy, if David Eddings could do it then so could Tolkien.....I think it gives it a great twist in Eddings books....Grolims trying to take over Mallorea and have their rituals OPENLY for Torak! It is a great series!

Oh you mean it like that! I see.....well then you are right!
But Grondy you got to read The Belgaran and The Mallorean by David Eddings! THey are awesome....I think that you would like them alot!
Cheers mate!

If Tolkien had made Middle Earth Catholic, it would lose all its appeal to readers belonging to other religions.