Religious studies of the work of J.R.R. Tolkien

The following is a select chronological bibliography of publications dealing with analyses of J.R.R. Tolkien's writings from a Christian (Catholic) perspective. Citations are given along with brief descriptions taken from online sales sites such as Amazon Books and Abebooks.com. This is a reference source only. The bibliography is arranged from most recent to oldest.

2022

Davis, Daniel Côté, Why Some Catholics Think J.R.R. Tolkien Could Be a Saint, The European Conservative [Blog], 12 March 2022.

Davis, Daniel Côté and Michael Organ, Guests, Hosts and the Holy Ghost: Who Tolkien's Tom Bombadil and Goldberry are and why it really matters, The Authors, London & Sydney, 2022, 254p. Forward by Joseph Pearce.

Doyle, Mark, Utopian and Dystopian Themes in Tolkien’s Legendarium, Lexington Books, 2022. Utopia and Dystopia in Tolkien's Legendarium explores how Tolkien's works speak to many modern people's utopian desires despite the overwhelming dominance of dystopian literature in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It also examines how Tolkien's malevolent societies in his legendarium have the unique ability to capture the fears and doubts that many people sense about the trajectory of modern society. Tolkien's works do this by creating utopian and dystopian longing while also rejecting the stilted conventions of most literary utopias and dystopias. Utopia and Dystopia in Tolkien's Legendarium traces these utopian and dystopian motifs through a variety of Tolkien's works including The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, Book of Lost Tales, Leaf by Niggle, and some of his early poetry. The book analyses Tolkien's ideal and evil societies from a variety of angles: political and literary theory, the sources of Tolkien's narratives, the influence of environmentalism and Catholic social doctrine, Tolkien's theories about and use of myth, and finally the relationship between Tolkien's politics and his theories of leadership. The book's epilogue looks at Tolkien's works compared to popular culture adaptations of his legendarium.

Freeman, Austin M., Tolkien Dogmatics: Theology through Mythology with the Maker of Middle-earth, Lexham Press, 2022, 432p. J. R. R. Tolkien was many things: English Catholic, father and husband, survivor of two world wars, Oxford professor, and author. But he was also a theologian. Tolkien’s writings exhibit a coherent theology of God and his works, but Tolkien did not present his views with systematic arguments. Rather, he expressed theology through story. In Tolkien Dogmatics, Austin M. Freeman inspects Tolkien’s entire corpus―The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and beyond―as a window into his theology. In his stories, lectures, and letters, Tolkien creatively and carefully engaged with his Christian faith. Tolkien Dogmatics is a comprehensive manual of Tolkien’s theological thought arranged in traditional systematic theology categories, with sections on God, revelation, creation, evil, Christ and salvation, the church, and last things. Through Tolkien’s imagination, we re-encounter our faith.

Pearce, Joseph, Tolkien and Lewis on the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Imaginative Conservative [Blog], 8 June 2022. Available URL: https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2022/06/tolkien-lewis-blessed-virgin-mary-joseph-pearce.html.

2021

Birzer, Bradley J., In the House of Tom Bombadil, Canon Press, 2021, 128p. What is Tom Bombadil doing in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings? His bright blue coat and yellow boots seem out-of-place with the grandeur of the rest of the narrative. In this book, C.R. Wiley shows that Tom is not an afterthought but Tolkien's way of making a profoundly important point. Tolkien once wrote, "[Tom Bombadil] represents something that I feel important, though I would not be prepared to analyze the feeling precisely. I would not, however, have left him in, if he did not have some kind of function." Tom Bombadil and his wife Goldberry are a small glimpse of the perfect beauty, harmony, and happy ending that we all yearn for in our hearts. To understand Tom Bombadil is to understand more of Tolkien and his deeply Christian vision of the world."

Kosloski, Philip, and Joseph Tuttle, Tolkien & Faith: Essays on Christian Truth in Middle-earth, Voyage Comics, 2018, 180p. J.R.R. Tolkien has captivated the imagination of countless souls with his fantastical realm of Middle-Earth. While his world never mentions God, Tolkien's Catholic faith is woven throughout his fictional mythology. Voyage Comics presents a selection of previously published articles―including a few that have not been published―on a range of Tolkien topics that investigate the underlying Christian themes that can be found in Middle-Earth.

Korpua, Jyrki et al., The Mythopoeic Code of Tolkien: A Christian Platonic Reading of the Legendarium, Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy, #75, McFarland, 2021, 202p.

McBride, Sam, Tolkien's Cosmology: Divine Beings and Middle-earth, Kent State University Press, 2021, 272p. Demonstrating the unity of Tolkien's created world across Middle-earth's Ages An in-depth examination of the role of divine beings in Tolkien's work, Tolkien's Cosmology: Divine Beings and Middle-earth brings together Tolkien's many references to such beings and analyzes their involvement within his created world. Unlike many other commentators, Sam McBride asserts that a careful reading of the whole of the author's corpus shows a coherent, if sometimes contradictory, divine presence in the world. In The Silmarillion, an epic history of the First Age of Middle-earth, Tolkien describes the Ainur, angelic beings under the direction of Eru Ilúvatar, the legendarium's god, as creators of physical reality. Some of these divine beings, the Valar and the Maiar, enter physical reality to oversee its development and prepare for the appearance of sentient life forms in Middle-earth: Elves and Humans, Dwarves, and eventually Hobbits. In the early stages of this history, the Valar and Maiar interact directly with Elves and Humans, opposing the work of evil beings led by Melkor. Yet Tolkien appears, at first glance, to have ignored this pantheon in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, set in the Third Age of Middle-earth. Tolkien's letters, however, suggest the cosmological structure continues. And representatives of the Valar and Maiar can be seen at work, such as Gandalf and Saruman. Tolkien also introduces hints that his divine beings continue to influence events invisibly, as with the prominence of luck in The Hobbit and fortuitous weather conditions in The Lord of the Rings. In the end, McBride argues, Tolkien's cosmology allows room for everything from poor decision-making to evil, suffering, and death, all part of a belief system that will make the final victory of Good much more powerful.

Bruner, Kurt D. and Michael Ware, Finding God in The Lord of the Rings, Tynedale Momentum, 2 March 2021, 140p.

2020

Halsall, Michael John, Creation and Beauty in Tolkien’s Catholic Vision: A Study in the Influence of Neoplatonism in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Philosophy of Life as “Being and Gift”, Pickwick Publications, 2020. This book invites readers into Tolkien's world through the lens of a variety of philosophers, all of whom owe a rich debt to the Neoplatonic philosophical tradition. It places Tolkien's mythology against a wider backdrop of Catholic philosophy and asks serious questions about the nature of creation, the nature of God, what it means to be good, and the problem of evil. Halsall sets Tolkien alongside both his contemporaries and ancient authors, revealing his careful use of literary devices inspired by them to craft his own mythology for England.

2019

Ko, Edmund, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: A Catholic reading of the Lord of the Rings, 2019, 14p. This essay is a Catholic examination of The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien was a Roman Catholic, the Lord of the Rings is a Catholic story.

Kreeft, Peter, Symbol or Substance? – A Dialogue on the Eucharist with C.S. Lewis, Billy Graham and J.R.R. Tolkien, Ignatius Press, 2019. In this engaging fictional conversation, Peter Kreeft gives credible voices to C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Billy Graham as they discuss one of the most contentious questions in the history of Christianity: Is Jesus symbolically or substantially present in the Eucharist? These widely respected modern Christian witnesses represent three important Western theological traditions. Graham, an ordained Southern Baptist minister who traversed the world and the airwaves to spread the good news of salvation, represents evangelical Protestantism. Lewis, an Oxford professor, a prolific Christian apologist, and the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, was a member of the Church of England. Also an Oxford don, Tolkien was a friend of Lewis, the author of The Lord of the Rings, and a Roman Catholic. While Lewis and Tolkien likely discussed the Eucharist during their long friendship, the conversation in this book never took place--but it could have, says Kreeft, who faithfully presents the views of these three impressive men.

2018

Hren, Joshua, Middle-earth and the Return of the Common Good, Cascade Books, 2018, 214p. Political philosophy is nothing other than looking at things political under the aspect of eternity. This book invites us to look philosophically at political things in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, demonstrating that Tolkien's potent mythology can be brought into rich, fruitful dialogue with works of political philosophy and political theology as different as Plato's Timaeus, Aquinas' De Regno, Hobbes's Leviathan, and Erik Peterson's ''Monotheism as a Political Problem.'' It concludes that a political reading of Tolkien's work is most luminous when conducted by the harmonious lights of fides et ratio as found in the thought of Thomas Aquinas. A broad study of Tolkien and the political is especially pertinent in that the legendarium operates on two levels. As a popular mythology it is, in the author's own words ''a really long story that would hold the attention of readers, amuse them, delight them, and at times maybe excite them or deeply move them.'' But the stories of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings contain deeper teachings that can only be drawn out when read philosophically. Written from the vantage of a mind that is deeply Christian, Tolkien's stories grant us a revelatory gaze into the major political problems of modernity--from individualism to totalitarianism, sovereignty to surveillance, terror to technocracy. As an ''outsider'' in modernity, Tolkien invites us to question the modern in a manner that moves beyond reaction into a vivid and compelling vision of the common good. ''Many have suspected that, just as Tolkien's religious faith, never mentioned in his fiction, nevertheless underlies it, so political philosophy, never directly expressed, animates his fiction and is one powerful reason for the responses it has generated. Joshua Hren's study of Tolkien and 'the common good' takes this intuition and makes out the case for it, with detailed study of both the traditional philosophy Tolkien knew, and the philosophical developments which have occurred since.'' --Tom Shippey, author of The Road to Middle-earth: How J.R.R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology ''If, as Tolkien insisted, The Lord of the Rings is a fundamentally Catholic work, it is important that we understand this most masterful work on the level of both Catholic theology and Catholic political philosophy. Hren tackles the latter with verve and vigor, and with a vibrant and tenacious understanding of the principles that informed Tolkien's understanding of power and its abuse.'' --Joseph Pearce, author of Tolkien: Man and Myth, a Literary Life ''Hren demonstrates compellingly that Tolkien's fiction offers us ways in which to conceive the entirety of our life together politically, philosophically, and ethically.'' --Alison Milbank, author of Chesterton and Tolkien as Theologians: The Fantasy of the Real ''Middle-Earth and the Return of the Common Good is ideal for fans and scholars alike.'' --G. J. McAleer, author of Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings: A Philosophy of War Joshua Hren is an Assistant Professor of English at Belmont Abbey College, teaching and working at the intersection of political philosophy, theology, and literature. He also serves as editor of Dappled Things: A Quarterly of Ideas, Art, and Faith, and as Editor-in-Chief of Wiseblood Books. Joshua has published scholarly articles in such journals as Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, poems in First Things, and a collection of short stories, This Our Exile.

Kimel, Aidan, Ainulindalë: The Secret of the Secret Fire, Eclectic Orthodoxy [blog], 19 February 2018. Available URL: https://afkimel.wordpress.com/2018/02/19/ainulindale-the-secret-of-the-secret-fire/.

Schlameuss-Perry, Jen, Comic Con Christianity, Paulist Press, 2018. From the earliest days of human culture, superheroes have inspired us to look deeper and raise questions about how we live in community. Every generation had its heroes from Beowulf to Siegfried to King Arthur, and our more recent heroes given by Tolkien, Lewis, Stan Lee, and Gene Roddenberry. Comic Con Christianity is a gateway to faith for young, unchurched nerds who do not currently have the vocabulary of faith which, incidentally, is the same vocabulary as most superhero, sci-fi, and fantasy media. For the seeker-young adults and nerds of all ages-this book is an introduction to Catholic Christian thought using media that already speaks to them. For the faithful, considering these stories from a Christian perspective offers a challenge to the way we live our ic Con Christianity, a natural expression of Catholic faith, invites the reader to look at Catholic Christian spirituality within the context of some of the most compelling stories of our culture. The stories in this book, which resonate with many, is a bridge between this ever-growing demographic and our Catholic faith.

Sweeney, Conor, Abiding the Long Defeat: How to Evangelise Like a Hobbit in a Disenchanted Age, Angelico Press, 2018, 248p. This book makes a fresh contribution to a growing genre of popular literature facing Christianity’s late-modern or postmodern decline. It situates the broader fate of Christian faith within the eschatological realism of J.R.R. Tolkien’s characterization of history as a “long defeat.” Conor Sweeney contends that the horizon of the “death of God” in the West constitutes an unprecedented escalation of that defeat. He argues that there is but one effective evangelical resistance to the nihilism of our time: simple acts offered in fidelity and love. Convinced that this will require a renewed encounter with the deepest roots of Christian faith, Sweeney confronts Christianity’s complicity in the death of God and shapes a bold antidote from the perennial hope of our ongoing baptismal participation in Christ’s death and resurrection.

2017

Carswell, John, Why Catholics should embrace Tolkien’s Beren and Luthien, Catholic Exchange [Blog], 14 June 2017. Available URL: https://catholicexchange.com/joy-beyond-walls-world-catholics-embrace-tolkiens-beren-luthien.

Cook, Jared (a), Enoch and the Silmarillion Part 1: Context and structure of the Tale of Enoch, By Common Consent [Blog], 24 February 2017. Available URL: https://bycommonconsent.com/2017/02/24/enoch-and-the-silmarillion-part-1-context-and-structure-of-the-tale-of-enoch/.

----- (b), Enoch and the Silmarillion Part IV: The Elves’ Weeping Goddess [Nienna], ibid., 8 March 2017. Available URL: https://bycommonconsent.com/2017/03/08/enoch-and-the-silmarillion-part-iv-the-elves-weeping-goddess/.

Frailey, A.K., The Road Goes Ever On: A Christian Journey Through The Lord of the Rings, Frailey Books, 2017, 186p. Tolkien's story, The Lord of the Rings, touches the soul in a profound way. Why is that? What makes the heroes so attractive? Can we ever become like them? The power to be strong and valiant is not limited to Middle-earth. We have been given the same tools and gifts that they are offered if we but recognize them. The rings of power in our society tempt us and our children as well. We would be wise if we awakened to that which tries our souls. Take a look at this classic from a Christian perspective, and you might bring Middle-earth a little bit closer to home.

Macintosh, Jonathan C., The Flame Imperishable: Tolkien, St. Thomas, and The Metaphysics of Faërie, Angelico Press, 2017.

Morrow, Jeffrey L., Seeking the Lord of Middle-earth: Theological Essays on J.R.R. Tolkien, Cascade Books, 2017, 190p. J. R. R. Tolkien, the beloved author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, brings to his work a great treasure--his Christian faith. Tolkien's literary works are so popular in part because, in some sense, they pertain to the real world. This present volume is an attempt to understand better the deep Christian influences on his work but also to explore the relevance of Tolkien's work for theology today. After examining Tolkien's fiction in order better to appreciate Christian influences, this volume takes a closer look at Tolkien's theology of fantasy, his response to the more skeptical origins of religion research, and applies his work to contemporary questions about method in biblical studies. Tolkien's Christianity informed all he wrote. Moreover, his own theology of fantasy holds great promise for contemporary theology.

Reimers, Adrian J., Hell and the Mercy of God, The Catholic University of America Press, 2017. If God is truly merciful and loving, perfect in goodness, how can he consign human beings created in his own image to eternal torment in hell? God's goodness seems incompatible with inflicting horrible evil upon those who oppose his will and defy his law. If to this paradox we add the metaphysical requirement that God be perfect in goodness, the eternal evil of hell seems to be contradictory to God's own nature. Catholic philosopher Adrian Reimers takes on these challenges in Hell and the Mercy of God, drawing on relevant sources from Aristotle to Aquinas, from Dante to Tolkien, from Wagner to John Paul II, along with Billie Holliday, The Godfather, and the music of George Gershwin. He presents a philosophical theology, grounded in Scripture, of the nature of goodness and evil, exploring various types of pain, the seven capital sins, the resurrection of the body, the meaning of mammon, the core meaning of idolatry, the psychology of Satan and those who choose his path, and the moral responsibility of the human person. These reflections illuminate the intelligibility of orthodox Catholic teachings on the goodness of God and the reality of hell. Hell is not an arbitrary imposition set up for human rule-breakers but a continuation of a freely chosen way of life manifest even in this world. Examples from history, art, and contemporary culture lead the author to conclude that anyone who does not believe in the reality of hell is not paying enough attention. And yet, mercy and hope remain triumphant, because, just as Christ offers entrance into paradise to the "good thief" Dismas on the cross, God continues to offer repentance and salvation to all who live.

Rocha, Biff, Learning to Love in the Little Things: Exploring Tolkien’s Purgative Allegory “Leaf by Niggle”, Principium Institute Faith and Fiction Book 1, 2017. J.R.R. Tolkien is best known for his The Lord of the Rings trilogy. His shorter essays are less well-known. One of his most important essays, however, "Leaf by Niggle," is full of wonderful lessons. In this essay, Dr. Rocha shows how Tolkien's "Leaf by Niggle" functions as a purgatorial allegory underscoring the importance of putting love into the little details of ordinary life.

2016

Best, Brandon, Tom Bombadil and Goldberry: Romantic Theology as Revelation in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings [Abstract], Research Symposium, Cedarville University, 2016.

Coutras, Lisa, Tolkien’s Theology of Beauty: Majesty, Splendor, and Transcendence in Middle-earth, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. In this book, Lisa Coutras explores the structure and complexity of J.R.R. Tolkien's narrative theology, synthesizing his Christian worldview with his creative imagination. She illustrates how, within the framework of a theological aesthetics, transcendental beauty is the unifying principle that integrates all aspects of Tolkien's writing, from pagan despair to Christian joy. J.R.R. Tolkien's Christianity is often held in an unsteady tension with the pagan despair of his mythic world. Some critics portray these as incompatible, while Christian analysis tends to oversimplify the presence of religious symbolism. This polarity of opinion testifies to the need for a unifying interpretive lens. The fact that Tolkien saw his own writing as "religious" and "Catholic," yet was preoccupied with pagan mythology, nature, language, and evil, suggests that these areas were wholly integrated with his Christian worldview. Tolkien's Theology of Beauty examines six structural elements, demonstrating that the author's Christianity is deeply embedded in the narrative framework of his creative imagination.

2015

Bernthal, Craig, Sacramental Vision: Discerning the Holy in Middle-earth, Second Spring Books, 2015, 318p. One of Tolkien's great appeals to readers is that he offers a world replete with meaning at every level. To read and reread Tolkien is to share his sense of wonder and holiness, to be invited into the presence of a "beauty beyond the circles of the world." It is to fall in love with a universe that has a beginning and an end, where good and bad are not subjective choices, but objective realities; a created order full of grace, though damaged by sin, in which friendship is the seedbed of the virtues, and where the greatest warriors finally become the greatest healers. A correspondent once told J. R. R. Tolkien that his work seemed illumined "by an invisible lamp." That lamp is the Church, and its light is the imaginative sensibility that we live in a sacramental world. This new book by the author of The Trial of Man examines in depth the influence of Catholic sacramentality on the thought and work of Tolkien, with major emphasis on The Lord of the Rings, but including his literary essays, epistolary poem "Mythopoeia," short story "Leaf by Niggle," and The Silmarillion. Here is a signal contribution to a deeper understanding of Tolkien, whose mythological world is meant to "recover" the meaning of our own as a grace-filled place, pointing toward its Creator.

Duriez, Colin, Bedeviled: Lewis, Tolkien and the Shadow of Evil, IVP Books, 2015, 241p. The battle between good and evil―in both the seen and unseen worlds―was as clearly at play in the era of C. S. Lewis and his friends in the Oxford literary group, the Inklings, as in our own era. Some of the members of the Inklings carried physical and psychological scars from World War I which led them to deeply consider the problem of evil during the dark era of World War II. Were they alive today, their view of a spiritual conflict behind physical battles would undoubtedly be reinforced.

Croft, Janet Brennan Croft and Leslie A. Donovan (editors), Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J.R.R. Tolkien, Mythopoeic Press, 2015, 358p. Since the earliest scholarship on The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, critics have discussed how the works of J. R. R. Tolkien seem either to ignore women or to place them on unattainable pedestals. To remedy such claims that Tolkien’s fiction has nothing useful or modern to say about women, Perilous and Fair focuses critical attention on views that interpret women in Tolkien’s works and life as enacting essential, rather than merely supportive roles.Perilous and Fair includes seven classic articles as well as seven new examinations of women in Tolkien’s works and life. These fourteen articles bring together perspectives not only on Tolkien’s most commonly discussed female characters-- Éowyn, Galadriel, and Lúthien—but also on less studied figures such as Nienna, Yavanna, Shelob, and Arwen. Among others, the collection features such diverse critical approaches and methods as literary source study, historical context, feminist theory, biographical investigation, close-reading textual analysis, Jungian archetypes, and fanfiction reader-response.

Montgomery, John Warwick (editor), Myth, Allegory and Gospel: An Interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Ghesterton and Charles Williams, NRP Books, 2015, 160p. If you are a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams or G.K. Chesterton, then this is a book worth reading. You might not know it, but Lewis, Williams and Tolkien were close friends who met together in a bar and created an informal writing support group known as The Inklings. And they all loved the writings of G.K. Chesterton who had gone before them. This collection of essays by various authorities in literature, myth and theology honors their literary work and friendship. The contributors to this volume, all scholars (a couple of whom knew either Tolkien or Lewis), draw on insights from religious phenomenology, Jungian analysis, Christian theology and literary interpretation to tease out the potent mythic symbols found in the writings of Chesterton and the Inklings. The central thesis running through this collection of essays is that mythic symbols found in folk-tales and religious rituals all express a common, fundamental human yearning for healing and a return to a lost paradise. The essayists then take us a step further, considering the Christian world-view that informed and shaped the writings of these men.

Pearce, Joseph, Frodo’s Journey: Discovering the Hidden Meaning of The Lord of the Rings, Catholic Courses, 2015. J. R. R. Tolkien's magnum opus, The Lord of the Rings, has been beloved for generations, selling millions of copies and selling millions more tickets through its award-winning film adaptations. The immense cultural impact of this epic is undeniable, but the deeper meaning of the story often goes unnoticed.

Risden, E.L., Tolkien’s Intellectual Landscape, McFarland & Co. Inc., 2015. The work of J.R.R. Tolkien has had a profound effect on contemporary fiction and film making, yet criticism often places him at the margins of twentieth- and twenty-first century thought and experience. He actually sits near the centre of the last century's intellectual landscape: his fiction created a new market for the "fantasy trilogy," his academic work represents what philology can still accomplish in academe and beyond, and his Catholic faith retains great meaning for millions of persons worldwide. Imaginative literature continues to grow even as publishers cut back on creative fiction: recently it has moved energetically into film, gaming, and, and online fan fiction, but in the twentieth century it bridged the gap between "leaned" and "popular" spheres of interest and readerships. Tolkien's living landscape continues to please, instruct, and inspire, drawing new generations of audiences to Middle-earth for the pleasure of adventure and to grapple with the upheavals of his time and their aftermath.

Royal, Robert, A Deeper Vision: The Catholic Intellectual Tradition in the Twentieth Century, Ignatius Press, 2015. In this wide-ranging and ambitious volume, Robert Royal, a prominent participant for many years in debates about religion and contemporary life, offers a comprehensive and balanced appraisal of the Catholic intellectual tradition in the twentieth century. The Catholic Church values both Faith and Reason, and Catholicism has given rise to extraordinary ideas and whole schools of remarkable thought, not just in the distant past but throughout the troubled decades of the twentieth century. Royal presents in a single volume a sweeping but readable account of how Catholic thinking developed in philosophy, theology, Scripture studies, culture, literature, and much more in the twentieth century. This involves great figures, recognized as such both inside and outside the Church, such as Jacques Maritain, Bernard Lonergan, Joseph Pieper, Edith Stein, Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, Romano Guardini, Karl Rahner, Henri du Lubac, Karol Wojtyla, Joseph Ratzinger, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Charles Peguy, Paul Claudel, George Bernanos, Francois Mauriac, G. K. Chesterton, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Christopher Dawson, Graham Greene, Sigrid Undset, J. R. R. Tolkien, Czeslaw Milosz, and many more. Royal argues that without rigorous thought, Catholicism - however welcoming and nourishing it might be - would become something like a doctor with a good bedside manner, but who knows little medicine. It has always been the aspiration of the Catholic tradition to unite emotion and intellect, action and contemplation. But unless we know what the tradition has already produced - especially in the work of the great figures of the recent past - we will not be able to answer the challenges that the modern world poses, or even properly recognize the true questions we face. This is a reflective, non-polemical work that brings together various strands of Catholic thought in the twentieth century. A comprehensive guide to the recent past - and the future.

2013

Hensler, Kevin R., God and Ilúvatar: Tolkien’s use of Biblical parallels and tropes in his cosmography, Mythmoot II: Back Again, Proceedings of the 2nd Mythgard Institute Mythmoot Conference, Maritime Institute, Linthicum, Maryland, 13-15 December 2013.

Tolkien Fans, Catholic themes in The Lord of the Rings?, Tolkien Fans [Online forum], 17 December 2013. Available URL: http://www.reddit.com/r/tolkienfans/.

RJH, Tolkien: Tom Bombadil as God, By Common Consent [blog], 8 May 2013. Available URL: https://bycommonconsent.com/2013/05/08/tolkien-tom-bombadil-as-god/.

2012

Caldecott, Stratford, The Power of the Ring: The Spiritual Vision Behind the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, Crossroad Publishing Co., 2012. Digging deep into J. R. R. Tolkien's spiritual biography--his religious scholarship and his love of both Christian and pagan myth--Stratford Caldecott offers a critical study of how the acclaimed author effectively created a vivid Middle Earth using the familiar rites and ceremonies of human history. And while readers and moviegoers alike may appreciate the fantasy world of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, few know that in life, Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic and that the characters, the events, and the general morality of each novel are informed by the dogmas of his faith. Revised and updated, this acclaimed study of Tolkien's achievement--previously released as Secret Fire in the UK--includes commentary on Peter Jackson's film adaptations and explores many of the fascinating stories and letters published after Tolkien's death.

Hartley, Gregory, A Wind from the West: The Role of the Holy Spirit in Tolkien’s Middle-earth, Christianity and Literature, 62(1), Autumn 2012, 95-120.

Markos, Louis, On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis, Moody Press, 2012, 240p. The world of J. R. R. Tolkien is filled with strange creatures, elaborately crafted lore, ancient tongues, and magic that exists only in fantasy; yet the lessons taught by hobbits and wizards speak powerfully and practically to our real lives. Courage, valor, trust, pride, greed, and jealousy--these are not fictional virtues. This is the stuff of real life, the Christian life. Professor and author Louis Markos takes us on the road with Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, with looks at selected classic works of literature as well, to show how great stories bring us so much more than entertainment. They inspire and convict, imparting truth in unforgettable ways. Rediscover the virtue of great storytelling and the power of fantasy to transform our reality.

Pearce, Joseph, Bilbo’s Journey: Discovering the Hidden Meaning in The Hobbit, Catholic Courses, 2012. Discover the Christian meaning in The Hobbit In Bilbo's Journey go beyond the dragons, dwarves, and elves, and discover the surprisingly deep meaning of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic novel The Hobbit. Bilbo's quest to find and slay the dragon Smaug is a riveting tale of daring and heroism, but as renowned Tolkien scholar Joseph Pearce shows, it is not simply Bilbo's journey, it is our journey too. It is the Christian journey of self-sacrifice out of love for others, and abandonment to providence and grace. In Bilbo's Journey: Discovering the Hidden Meaning of The Hobbit you will relive the excitement of Tolkien's classic tale, while discovering the profound Christian meaning that makes The Hobbit a truly timeless adventure.

2011

Kerry, Paul E and Sandra Miesel, Light Beyond All Shadow: Religious Experience in Tolkien’s Work, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2011. What forms can religious experience take in a world without cult or creed? Organized religion is notably absent from J. R. R. Tolkien's Secondary Universe of elves, dwarves, men and hobbits despite the author's own deep Catholic faith. Tolkien stated that his goal was 'sub-creating' a universe whose natural form of religion would not directly contradict Catholic theology. Essays in Light Beyond All Shadows examine the full sweep of Tolkien's legendarium, not only The Lord of the Rings but also The Hobbit, The Silmarillion and The History of Middle-Earth series plus Peter Jackson's film trilogy. Contributions to Light Beyond All Shadows probe both the mind of the maker and the world he made to uncover some of his fictional strategies, such as communicating through imagery. They suggest that Tolkien's Catholic imagination was shaped by the visual appeal of his church's worship and iconography. They seek other influences in St. Ignatius Loyola's meditation technique and St. Philip Neri's 'Mediterranean' style of Catholicism. They propose that Tolkien communicates his story through Biblical typology familiar in the Middle Ages as well as mythic imagery with both Christian and pagan resonances. They defend his 'comedy of grace' from charges of occultism and Manichaean dualism. They analyze Tolkien's Christian friends the Inklings as a supportive literary community. They show that within Tolkien's world, Nature is the Creator's first book of revelation. Like its earlier companion volume, The Ring and the Cross, edited by Paul E. Kerry, scholarship gathered in Light Beyond All Shadows aids appreciation of what is real, meaningful, and truthful in Tolkien's work.

McIntosh, Jonathan S., Trinity in Middle-earth, parts 1-4, 24 September 2011, The Flame Imperishable [Blog]. Available URL: https://jonathansmcintosh.wordpress.com/.

2009

Smith, Scott L., Lord of the Rings and the Eucharist, Holy Water Books, 2009, 169p. What is "the one great thing to love on earth", according to J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings? The Eucharist! Tolkien made sure his one great love was woven throughout his books. It's easy to find if you know where to look. In Smith's new book, find Tolkien's hidden Eucharist! The Lord of the Rings can't be fully understood without understanding its hidden Eucharistic significance. What's more, perhaps: J. R. R. Tolkien can't be fully understood apart from his Catholic identity and his devotion to the Eucharist. Are you ready to read Lord of the Rings like you never have before?.

2008

Alison, Milbank, Chesterton and Tolkien as Theologian – The Fantasy of the Real, T. & T. Clark, 2008. Examines Chesterton's theology of gift as the means by which magic can become 'real' thereby enabling characters to enter into reciprocal relations that connect with the divine. Each chapter moves to apply these innovative ideas to Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' presenting the fascinating argument that Tolkien's fiction can be viewed as the work of a Catholic writer steeped in Chestertonian ideas, and sharing his literary-theological poetics.

Moden, Ann, Power and Corruption: Evil in Tolkien's Eä, Hogskolan University, 2008, 40p.

Siewers, Alfred K., Tolkien’s Cosmic-Christian Ecology: The Medieval Underpinnings, in Jane Chance and Alfred K. Siewers (editors), Tolkien’s Modern Middle Ages, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, 139-53.

2006

Donaghy, Bill, In the House of Tom Bombadil [Blog], Catholic Exchange, 20 October 2006. Available URL: http://catholicexchange.com/in-the-house-of-tom-bombadil.

Purtill, Richard, Lord of Elves and Eldis: Fantasy and Philosophy in C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, Ignatius Press, 2006, 304p. A fascinating look at the fantasy and philosophy of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien. The two men were friends and fellow professors at Oxford, renowned Christian thinkers who both “found it necessary to create for the purposes of their fiction other worlds—not utopias or dystopias, but different worlds.”

2005

Anonymous, Tom Bombadil = the Flame Imperishable, Fanatics Plaza forum [Website], 2005. Available URL: http://www.lotrplaza.com/archives/.

Boyle, Nicholas, Sacred and Secular Scriptures: A Catholic Approach to Literature, Notre Dame Press, 2005. Nicholas Boyle's latest work begins with an observation--from theologian and medievalist Father Marie-Dominique Chenu, O.P.--that the Bible should be seen as a divinely ordained mediation between human culture and divine truth. But how far can we say that the Bible is 'literature'? Chenu is surely right that God is revealed in Scripture not through a system of ideas, but through a vivid historical narrative of people and places. But the Bible is also a sacred book. Expanding on this central dilemma, Boyle demonstrates that biblical scholarship and literary criticism must work together in the largely neglected task of integrating theology and modern secular culture. Boyle explores two lines of thought. In the first series of essays, he discusses a range of writers, primarily philosophers and theologians, who have treated the Bible as literature as a means of reconciling the sacred and the secular. In the second series, Boyle moves to the theme of literature as Bible, seeking a Catholic way of reading secular literature. These sophisticated and learned essays--drawn from the Erasmus Lectures Boyle delivered at the University of Notre Dame in 2003--cover a remarkable range of philosophers, theologians, and writers, including Herder, Schleiermacher, Hegel, Lévinas, Goethe, Austen, Melville, and Tolkien. This volume will reward its reader with penetrating, and often brilliant, insights.

Kreeft, Peter, The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind The Lord of the Rings, Ignatius Press, 2005, 160p. While nothing can equal or replace the adventure in reading Tolkien’s masterwork, The Lord of the Rings, Peter Kreeft says that the journey into its underlying philosophy can be another exhilarating adventure. Thus, Kreeft takes the reader on a voyage of discovery into the philosophical bones of Middle earth. He organizes the philosophical themes in The Lord of the Rings into 50 categories, accompanied by over 1,000 references to the text of Lord. Since many of the great questions of philosophy are included in the 50-theme outline, this book can also be read as an engaging introduction to philosophy. For each of the philosophical topics in Lord, Kreeft presents tools by which they can be understood.

2004

Anonymous, Tom and the Flame Imperishable, Fanatics Plaza forum [Website], 10 June 2004. Available URL: http://www.lotrplaza.com/archives/.

Lobdell, Jared C., The World of the Rings: Language, Religion and Adventure in Tolkien, Open Court Publishing Co., 2004. Jared Lobdell examines Tolkien's methods and his worldview by following the thread of three influences: 1. the Edwardian adventure story; 2. the science of philology, or comparative languages; and 3. Roman Catholic theology. The "Edwardian mode" of adventure story (King Solomon's Mines, The Lost World) is one in which a small group of Englishmen make an expedition to foreign parts and find supernatural terrors awaiting them, finally returning home, mission accomplished. The architecture and narrative style of these adventure stories is followed completely in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien's towering erudition in ancient Germanic and Celtic languages helps to explain his successful use of a mixture of period styles in his story-telling, as well as his amazing facility coining memorable names. Although Tolkien's stories betray a strong Christian conception of virtue and suffering, his Catholic background raises difficult problems for understanding the tales, with their heroes who are basically irreligious. Are these stories before the Fall of Man, or is there some other explanation for the absence of Christ? Lobdell pursues many subtle clues to arrive at a balanced answer.

Rutledge, Fleming, The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien’s Diving Design in The Lord of the Rings, Erdmans, 2004, 561p. Fascinating Christian theological undercurrents of Gandalf's resurrection. J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings has long been acknowledged as the gold standard for fantasy fiction, and the recent Oscar-winning movie trilogy has brought forth a whole new generation of fans. Many Tolkien enthusiasts, however, are not aware of the profoundly religious dimension of the great Ring saga. In The Battle for Middle-earth Fleming Rutledge employs a distinctive technique to uncover the theological currents that lie just under the surface of Tolkien's epic tale. Rutledge believes that the best way to understand this powerful "deep narrative" is to examine the story as it unfolds, preserving some of its original dramatic tension. This deep narrative has not previously been sufficiently analyzed or celebrated. Writing as an enthusiastic but careful reader, Rutledge draws on Tolkien's extensive correspondence to show how biblical and liturgical motifs shape the action. At the heart of the plot lies a rare glimpse of what human freedom really means within the Divine Plan of God. The Battle for Middle-earth surely will, as Rutledge hopes, "give pleasure to those who may already have detected the presence of the sub-narrative, and insight to those who may have missed it on first reading."

2003

Anonymous, The Blessed Trinity in Letter 131, The One Ring [Online forum], 14 October 2003. Available URL: http://forums.theonering.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=72329.

Boyd, Ian and Stratford Caldecott (editors), A Hidden Presence: The Catholic Imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Chesterton Press, 2003, 185p. Most readers of the Lord of the Rings, and viewers of the movie adaptations of the book by Peter Jackson, are unaware that J.R.R. Tolkien was a devout Catholic with a profound spiritual life. The contributors to this collection explore different aspects of this neglected but essential religious element in Tolkien's writing. He emerges as one of the truly great modern authors, who along with the War poets and several contemporary fantasists sought not to escape from reality but to fashion an adequate response to it, awakening Hope in the face of all temptation to despair, and kindling the imagination of the young with a mature vision of heroism born out of tragedy and love.

Birzer, Bradley J., J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-earth, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2003. Author Bradley Birzer offers a full and accessible treatment of Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology in Tolkien's trilogy the Lord of the Rings, examining its religious symbolism and significance.

Wood, Ralph C., The Gospel According to Tolkien: Visions of the Kingdom in Middle-earth, John Knox Press, Westminster, 2003, 169p. Christianity at the very heart of the mystical world. In this accessible and engaging book, Ralph Wood shows us that J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece is a deeply Christian work because it does not blink back the horrors of our terrible times but confronts them with startling honesty. Readers keep turning to this work because here they are immersed in significance and meaning - perceiving the Hope than can be found amidst despair, the Charity that overcomes vengeance, and the Faith that springs from the strange power of weakness. The Gospel According to Tolkien will be loved by both long time Tolkien fans and those recently drawn to his books through the popular feature films.

1985

Kocher, Paul, Ilúvatar and the Secret Fire, Mythlore, 12(1), 1985, 36-7. Aspects of the Blessed Trinity in Tolkien's writing.

1984

Purtill, Richard L., J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality and Religion, Harper Collins, 1984, 154p. Examines Tolkien's use of religious ideas and myths, discusses the moral themes of the Ring trilogy, and looks at the treatment of free will, death, and miracles.

1976

Kilby, Clyde S., Tolkien & the Silmarillion: A Glimpse at the Man and his World of Myth, Harold Shore, Wheaton, 1976.

1975

Perkins, Agnes and Helen Hill, The Corruption of Power, in Jared Lobdell (ed.), A Tolkien Compass, Open Court, La Salle, 1975, 57-68.

1955

C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life, Geoffrey Bles, 1955, 252p. An autobiography which refers to the conversation between Tolkien and Lewis which resulted in the latter's conversion to Christianity.

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Last updated: 25 March 2023

Michael Organ, Australia

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Religious studies of the work of J.R.R. Tolkien - A chronological bibliography

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