I would first like to express my appreciation to the author of the recent article “Would the Saints Read Tolkien.” His thoughtful and clear examination of the role a literary work such as The Lord of the Rings has in the spiritual journey each of us must make was well written and an important message for our too often overly scrupulous times. That being said, I have already witnessed some of the controversy resulting from the article and would like to expound briefly on the article’s main thesis. I personally do not find any controversy in the idea that Tolkien can be both read and valued, not as a replacement for The Lives of the Saints, but as another source of truth, goodness, and beauty for our broken world. However, I believe Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings is not merely an “allowable” source of reading for Catholics, it is, particularly for the laity, a required piece of literature. As I see it, there are three interconnected reasons to justify Tolkien as a must-read for Catholics; each of which I will explain briefly. 

Firstly, in Tolkien, we find an exceptional model for the way in which our faith is meant to suffuse all that we do, say, and think. Tolkien did not write The Lord of the Rings as a religious allegory; it is first and foremost an attempt to create a truly English mythology. Yet, because of his faith, it was impossible for what he created to not become infused with images, symbolism, and meaning of a deeply Catholic nature. From the angelic nature of the elves, to Frodo, Gandalf, and Aragorn fulfilling Christ’s roles as priest, prophet, and king, Catholicism is fully engrained in Tolkien’s work. By reading Tolkien we learn especially what it means for our faith to bleed into our work and professions, often in a way more relatable to the average laity than that of the saints. Secondly, if we want to honestly rebuild our culture, we cannot abandon the good aspects of modern culture in favor of starting from scratch; instead, we need to understand what truly Catholic art, literature, movies, etc. looks like and The Lord of the Rings, as a piece of authentically Catholic culture, therefore needs to be read and admired by every one of us. Finally, if we fail to recognize the intrinsic value of The Lord of the Rings as an example of all that is good, true, and beautiful in our culture, how could we honestly say that any other piece of good culture, the majority of which fall short of the Catholicism of Tolkien’s work, is in any way acceptable? We would be forced to essentially abandon culture to the secular and in so doing lose any hope of drawing them into the higher good of which authors like Tolkien, Lewis, and O’Connor have done for so many. 

Stop making excuses; if you have not read Tolkien yet, you owe it to yourself and to the culture you are seeking to build to read him now.

This letter was published in response to “Would the Saints Read Tolkien?”