Would the Middle Earth saga be considered a religion in of itself? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Beleglas · 06-15-2002, 12:11 PM

I think the mythology created by Tolkien is complex enough to be a religion if it was written down earlier, about 600 - 0 b.C. or such. I think that if you would read the Silmarillion to an ancient Greek he may even believe it, and worship his "new" gods.

It has all aspects of a religion:
1.) A creation myth (and a very original one)
2.) Tales about an afterlife.
3.) A clear difference between good and evil forces. Manwe against Morgoth, Elves against Orcs.
4.) Little godly interfearance (none in the third age)
5.) Heros.

The only problem seems to be that everyone knows it has been invented by one person. Of course the Torah (and everything derived from that) are written by a bunch of people who just did it for fun (and are now laughing their heads of in their own created heaven). But try to explain that to Osama bin Laden... [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
No offence of course [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] .

06-15-2002, 12:11 PM	#29
Beleglas Pile O'Bones Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Netherlands Posts: 20	I think the mythology created by Tolkien is complex enough to be a religion if it was written down earlier, about 600 - 0 b.C. or such. I think that if you would read the Silmarillion to an ancient Greek he may even believe it, and worship his "new" gods. It has all aspects of a religion: 1.) A creation myth (and a very original one) 2.) Tales about an afterlife. 3.) A clear difference between good and evil forces. Manwe against Morgoth, Elves against Orcs. 4.) Little godly interfearance (none in the third age) 5.) Heros. The only problem seems to be that everyone knows it has been invented by one person. Of course the Torah (and everything derived from that) are written by a bunch of people who just did it for fun (and are now laughing their heads of in their own created heaven). But try to explain that to Osama bin Laden... [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] No offence of course [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] .