I think it is safe to say that for many people Tolkien's works (and other works of Christian writers i.e. writers with a clear Christian influence) certainly have some effect on religious or moral beliefs. For example, myself. I used to be more or less an atheist (not surprisingly - my parents and pretty much my entire non-American family are atheists and none of my friends believe in God). Tolkien (but admittedly especially some of the comments of fellow Downers) has really got me thinking about religion again and I find myself far more interested and accepting of Christian faith than I was at any other time in my life. (I don't wish to go into sob story mode but I feel I should explain: when I was little, I lived in a Catholic community for a while and loved the church and bible classes more than any of my classmates - whether this was because of interest or faith I have no clue -, but was never permitted to attend 'real' mass and eventually they kicked me out of the classes because I was not baptised. I have never really liked the church since then - I was highly insulted - even though I have always felt closer to Catholic faith than any other religion). I feel at times very strongly about this - at the time of voting, for example, when I checked Catholic - even though I am aware that undoubtedly I will never seriously be anything else than an agnostic/atheist: my parents would find me a fool and my friends would definitely be far too amused.
Huhm - to make a long and rather personal story short, yes, Tolkien and his works can affect religious views when you're open to it, I think, and especially when you are a member of the Barrowdowns. I must say though, watching the movies and hearing the story as a kid I never really thought about faith, only the values that come with it. But maybe it hardly matters whether you believe or not as long as you are nice to everyone and share your chocolate chip cookies. And save the world when it needs you.
