Into the Archive: Tolkien's Faith

Tolkien’s Faith: A Spiritual Biography, by Holly Ordway (2023, Word on Fire Academic, 480 pp.)

This book was supposed to be released on September 2^nd, the 50^th anniversary of J. R. R. Tolkien’s passing; a rather fitting tribute, in this case, as in Catholic tradition a saint’s day is celebrated on the date of his demise. However, it was apparently delayed for some reason, putting it closer to, if not exactly on, “Bilbo and Frodo’s Birthday”, September 22, which was originally the date on which it was to be delivered.

It could not be brought to me too quickly, though, so eager was I to get it. When I saw that it was only five deliveries away from me in the Amazon truck, I went out on the porch at 11:30 AM (temperature in the 90’s as it was) to await its arrival, though the extreme estimate of its coming was at 2 PM. But I only had time to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart and was saying the final prayer of my Rosary when the truck pulled in.

I hurried it in and unpacked it, first from its cardboard box and then from the shrink wrap. It is a beautiful book. It is, I believe, the first fully researched account of Tolkien's religious life. Before this there have mainly been cursory mentions of his faith now and then with very little analysis of what it meant to him, or rather preachy books of theology dedicated to ‘finding God in The Lord of the Rings.’ This is, as it states, ‘A Spiritual Biography,’ dedicated to the man as well as to the effect his religion had on his creative life.

To supplement the tale, there is an extensive photo gallery of both black-and-white and color pictures, ranging from portraits of people important to his spiritual journey to the various churches that he attended throughout his life, from the Anglican cathedral in South Africa where he was baptized to the Catholic church where his funeral was held in 1973, many of them showing how the places looked when he knew them.

There is also an Appendix A: The Timeline of Tolkien’s Lifetime, and an Appendix B: Prayers and Liturgical Extracts for those unacquainted with Catholic practices, as well as a Glossary of religious terms to clarify what might be otherwise unfamiliar concepts. A plethora of Endnotes (31 pages), an extensive Bibliography, a Biblical Index marking quotations used in the text, and a General Index pay tribute to Ordway’s meticulous research and careful study.

For all that scholarship, I have never found her story-telling to be leaden or dull. Holly Ordway has quickly become one of my favorite scholars of Tolkien studies. She says that she immediately started work on Tolkien’s Faith as soon as she had finished the monumental Tolkien’s Modern Reading, which I am on record as stating that it is my favorite book in the arena since Shippey’s The Road to Middle-earth. I can hardly wait to buckle down and get tucked into Tolkien’s Faith, and then to see whatever other work she has in store.