Public Research: Religion - What Confession Do You Belong to?

[Child of the 7th Age]

We are a traditional Jewish family. I personally am half Orthodox and half Conservative (if such a thing is possible). I like walking to synagogue and having one day that's different from the rest of the week, but I also like helping to lead the davening which I can only do in the local conservative synagogue. Interestingly, our extended family has people of many different faiths: Protestants, Catholics, and Moslems. We all get along fine. (Well, we might fight occasionally, but that has nothing to do with religion!)

Academically, I spent a lot of time studying the Christian religion in all its variations in the context of medieval and early modern history. The religious aspect of Tolkien deeply interests me, and I am sympathetic to his commitment, although it is not my own. My feelings about Lewis are more mixed. I agree that he was definitely not a fanatic. Plus, I absolutely love his "Till We Have Faces". Although this is Lewis' book that has the fewest allusions to traditional Christian doctrine or symbols, it is extremely deeply felt, perhaps because of his relationship with Joy. I actually have more of a sense of the "numinous" reading this than any of his other works.