I'm not a Jedi, but a ...

[alatar]

Thank you all for your input.

Originally Posted by Boo Radley

But Illuvitarian has such a nice ring to it.

It just sounds too 'vanilla' and so may be confused with some other idea, like that I don't eat squid.

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

How about Numenorean*?

On the other hand, it could be mistaken for a mathematical cult of some kind if the word is not read precisely.

That would be my fear, that either I was into numerology or was way too big a fan of the TV show Numb3rs.

*I left the accents out on purpose - you wouldn't want to confuse some poor American computer that's attempting to read your form, would you?!

Sometimes I would rather deal with a computer, as it least it can be consistent.

Originally Posted by radagastly

"Tolkienist," is acceptable. "Eruan," might be a better word, but let's face it, Tolkien would never approve of any of this. He was a Catholic. He really believed it! I'm not asking you to, (I don't, I never have.) but if this is really the what you want, then here it is.

So you are saying that if I believed that Tolkien works were the basis of a belief system, I should then indicate 'Catholic' on any form? Maybe you mean small 'c' catholic, as in "embracing all things; universal."

I hope you don't have a problem with it. It really means that you're doing things right.

I don't understand what you mean here.

Originally Posted by Mnemosyne

I suppose if you wanted to put something down that would follow both Middle-earth itself and what Tolkien thought of it, you'd have to say that you're a Natural Religionist. Of course, that would work better if you're a hobbit-fancier than if you go after those who actually did have some exposure to the revealed religion of Middle-earth...

What about some derivation of 'Middle Earther?' That's what I truly believe in, that world and its basis.

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Off-topic– Alatar, are you sure you actually have to give that information in order to make a claim in the US?

Surely no company would ask for information that it wasn't absolutely required to have. It's very important, I guess, if you've purchased a washing machine, to know if you golf...maybe it has something to do with the machine's usage...

In Australia, all you need is proof of purchase. I'm just saying, I think those questions are a bit of a scam.

No! I'm shocked to even consider such a thought...<alatar's eyes glance over at the title above his avatar>

Originally Posted by Hakon

This should be a game in Middle Earth Mirth. Lord of the Rings related religions. Here is one Frodoist. Seriously though sometime someone needs to write I worship Melkor or I worship Sauron on a form.

Frodo is a more identifiable word than either of the two Dark Lords, and so you may have something there. And stating that I worshiped either of the latter would, to me, just come off as somewhat childish. I think that the story of the Music of the Ainur is a wonderful 'creation' story, and so would want to indicate that I was more than just a sword-toting thug by my designation.

Originally Posted by Ibrîniðilpathânezel

I suppose I would say that I am Eruhini, a child of Eru, which of course all humans were, and are. I suspect Tolkien would not have approved of it as a basis for an organized religion, but he couldn't have argued with the concept. Besides, I'm not one for organized religions, anyway. I dance to a far too different drummer.

Your religion allows dancing?!?

Pigeonholing is one of the most popular pastimes of obsessive controllers, and near always as I have experienced it, usually winds up being abusive. Businesses often call it "demographics," which is their way of figuring out whether or not you and your opinions are worthy of their consideration (all too often based on your age and/or income level). It stinks.

Yes, but you should try to have some fun with it. Looking over the entire form, you can get a sense of the 'real' question (i.e. wants to pigeonhole you, wants to sell you something, wants to spam you, etc), and so you can then devise a scheme that either gets your returned form thrown out for being an outlier, or skews their research.

The more dichotomies, the better.