Catholic Culture Overview
Catholic Culture Overview

168—Tolkien’s Hard-Won Faith—Holly Ordway

By Catholic Culture Podcast ( bio - articles - email ) | Nov 02, 2023 | In The Catholic Culture Podcast

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Holly Ordway continues to break new ground in Tolkien scholarship with her latest book, Tolkien’s Faith: A Spiritual Biography. This work sheds important light on the experience of Catholics like Tolkien and his mother in the hostile Anglican establishment of their time, on the crucial influence of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri on the young Tolkien, and more. Holly returns to the podcast to discuss these and other topics, such as:

  • Should Tolkien be canonized?
  • His practice of his faith in the first world war
  • His struggles with his faith and in his marriage
  • The secret initial in Tolkien’s name
  • Was Tolkien a trad?

Tolkien’s Faith: A Spiritual Biography https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/products/tolkiens-faith

Theme music: “Franciscan Eyes”, written and performed by Thomas Mirus. Download the Catholic Culture Podcast soundtrack.

Thomas V. Mirus is Director of Podcasts for CatholicCulture.org, hosts The Catholic Culture Podcast, and co-hosts Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast. See full bio.

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