Why Christians Should Read (and Write) Fantasy

Angela Merkle
May 22
9 min read

J.R.R. Tolkien, a devout Catholic, is often considered the father of the modern fantasy genre. Before Tolkien, the fantastic had largely been relegated to ancient myths, folklore, and children’s fairytales. It was not seen as the sort of thing one would find in a novel written for adults (outside of the Horror genre). While The Lord of the Rings was not overtly allegorical like C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, Tolkien himself described his books as “fundamentally religious and Catholic work[s].” An entire book could be written about the many Christian themes found in The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien’s other fantastic works. In fact, I took an entire literature class on The Lord of the Rings in college in which we discussed some of them. But my purpose today is not to deep dive on Tolkien. I want to examine why, with this promising start, the fantasy genre slipped away from Christianity and why now, in the 2020s, it’s making a comeback among the faith community.

Fantasy Left Christians Behind

In the decades that followed Tolkien and Lewis’ fantasy writings, a few other Christians tried their hand at it. But, by and large, the books did not sell, and publishers lost interest in producing failed products. For many decades, there has been an idea among Christians that the only fiction we are allowed to enjoy must be realistic and must contain an overt biblical lesson. The fantasy genre, meanwhile, continued to grow without Christian influence. In the 1980s, the tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons became wildly popular. With its inclusion of monsters such as vampires, demons, imps, and many other grotesque horrors, some Christians panicked. Any person who played such a game must be engaging in Satanism.

This mistrust carried over even to the Pokémon games when they were released in the 1990s. Some felt this encouraged children to summon spirits. Others were put off by the use of the word “evolve” when a Pokémon in the game changed from one form into another.

The biggest push back to the fantasy genre I experienced in my generation was the reaction by some within the church to the Harry Potter books. I had friends, both as a kid and as a young adult, who insisted the books were evil and must not be read by Christians (those same Christians are usually fine with the fairy godmother in Cinderella). They were especially wary that J.K. Rowling chose to name her fictional school Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The term witchcraft really stuck, and many assumed, without reading the books for themselves, that the phenomenon of the books’ popularity was a scheme by Satan to draw youngsters away from the Lord. If you did read Harry Potter in the early 2000s, you didn’t tell the elders at your church about it. While at church, you kept your interests to yourself and only talked about Jesus-related things like a good Christian.

Why the Mistrust?

To be fair, I’m not here to defend all fantasy books and other media. There are quite a few that are problematic, which I will address in a moment. But first let’s look at the elements of fantasy itself and consider if they warrant the extreme aversion they received from the church in the 1980s-early 2000s.

Christians are right to be wary of actual witchcraft. The Bible doesn’t say witchcraft isn’t real; it warns us to stay away from it.

“There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, a soothsayer, one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who consults the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God is going to drive them out before you.” Deuteronomy 18:10-12

“Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:31

“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21

Real life witchcraft occurs when people commune with demons in order to do unnatural, ungodly things. This has existed since antiquity, and today often takes the form of voodoo, wiccan practices, and, in some countries, witch doctors. (As a side note, I’ve had more than one Nigerian friend who has been uneasy about the presence of cats in my house. They never seem 100% sure that my cats aren’t shapeshifted witches or demonic companions). Witchcraft is very real, and very evil. It should of course be rebuked and avoided in all its forms.

So, do fantasy novels encourage real witchcraft? In most cases, no. Most modern fantasy stories are just that: pure fantasy. In the tradition of Tolkien, most describe an epic adventure in an imaginary world. The magic invented by the author usually does not reflect real witchcraft practices and does not involve demonic interaction. The source of most fantasy magic systems is the character himself. Whether he learns magic from study or is born with innate abilities, he can use it do all sort of unrealistic things like flying or conjuring a ball of fire or causing an item to fly across the room into his hand. Fantasy magic can also be used to do darker things, of course. But usually, it is the bad guys who use magic this way.

In Harry Potter, Voldemort used dark magic to split his soul into pieces whenever he murdered someone so that he could not be killed. It was made abundantly clear in the books that this was the wrong way to use magic. Magic in this sense becomes like any other skill that exists in real life. It can be used for good or for evil, and the characters must learn the difference to choose between right and wrong.

Dark Fantasy and Anti-Heroes

Just like with any entertainment medium, Christians should use discernment when deciding what books to read. Because of the reception fantasy received in the Christian community, the genre was pursued mostly by non-Christian writers for decades. In an attempt to make magic systems more realistic, some authors use actual witchcraft for inspiration. Others think the best way to be edgy in their writing is to include copious amounts of sex and violence. The A Song of Ice and Fire series by self-proclaimed agnostic George R. R. Martin (best known for the title of the first book in the series, A Game of Thrones), for example, clearly reflects the author’s bleak, godless worldview by leaning heavily on tragedy and gore as his main method of entertainment. These books have become bestsellers.

Other authors/filmmakers think the best way to tell an interesting story is to feature a morally gray anti-hero as their protagonist. This has been especially popular in the 2010s and first half of the 2020s.

Instead of Luke Skywalker, noble jedi who fights the darkness both around and within himself and comes out the other side still following the light, we have Cassian Andor. Trigger-happy mercenary for the Rebellion who takes life without a thought so long as it’s convenient for him. He died for a larger cause, though, so we’re supposed to forgive his extremely questionable morality. Andor doesn’t fight the darkness within himself. He embraces it. He will use people just as often as he will help them, and, at least in the first season of Andor that I watched, there’s no better character to root for. The message I came away with was that all humans are messy and selfish, no matter what side of an issue they are on, so there’s no point trying to be better. There is no light, no hope, and no higher power to help people overcome their darkness. It’s a bleak outlook.

And that is exactly why Christian storytellers are needed in these spaces.

The Rise of Christian Fantasy

I remember the first time I found a fantasy book that was overtly Christian and was not The Chronicles of Narnia. It was 2011, and somehow I found Bryan Davis’ Dragons in Our Midst series. It was a book that had dragons…AND talked about Jesus! I couldn’t believe it. For my entire life, I had been operating under the assumption that those two things couldn’t coexist. (I tried to explain to my roommates at the time why it was such a big deal. They smiled and nodded politely). Over the last decade, more and more Christian writers have entered the speculative fiction arena. There are entire publishing houses that specialize in it (the biggest of which is Enclave Publishing). Notable authors include Andrew Peterson, S.D. Smith, Morgan L. Busse, Ted Dekker, Kara Swanson, and many others.

The desire for these clean, hopeful, imaginative stories has always been there. So why did it take this long to catch on? I can only speculate based on what I see as cultural trends. Thomas Umstattd, Jr., novel marketing podcaster and CEO of Author Media, has articulated a theory of what he calls the Zeitgeist; the defining cultural climate of the age, and how it affects media trends. Society as a whole goes through what he calls “turnings” over the decades. What kind of stories a society produces will be determined by which turning or era they find themselves in.

Good times create weak men. Weak men create bad times. Bad times create strong men. Strong men create good times.

For a longer explanation about the cultural turnings and when they occurred in history, check out Thomas’ blog post on the subject. Now, in the mid-2020s, we find ourselves in the fourth turning in Western civilization. Weak men have created bad times fraught with social upheaval, economic crises, and moral ambiguity. And people are tired of it. They are tired of the anti-heroes doing nothing but serving their own interests. “The antihero does the right thing for selfish reasons. The true hero does the right thing for selfless reasons.” Readers are longing for heroes who will do the right thing even when it’s hard. They long for strong men.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus gave up his life out of his selfless love for us. Christians have the ultimate example of a hero as our cornerstone, and we long to see that message of hope and light reflected in fiction. I am not saying that characters shouldn’t have flaws. Or that they shouldn’t struggle. They should. And the world around them can be very dark. But contemporary readers are primed and ready to watch an inspiring hero overcome his circumstances and flaws and do what’s right. As we watch characters prevail over their struggles, we find the strength to fight our own.

Why Write Fantasy?

These principles apply to all fiction, so why focus on fantasy? Because this traditionally dark space is longing for light. Because our God is a creative God who gifted us vivid imaginations, and that should be used for His glory. Because fantastic stories stir something rich deep within a person’s soul. And because a person who would never set foot in a church might pick up a fantasy book and begin to imagine what it would be like if there was a God who loved him and wanted him to shun the dark side and come back to the light.

Christian-inspired fantasy is most often not strictly allegorical like The Chronicles of Narnia (though a few, like Donita K. Paul, have created versions of Jesus within their fantasy worlds much as Lewis did with Aslan). More often, it is Christian principles that shine through the narrative. Not only in terms of uplifting overall messages and moral heroes, but also in the way the world is structured. These fantastic worlds will often have one all-powerful God who is referred to by one of His aspects such as The Light, or The Provider, or The Ancient One, etc. Characters must discover how to live in right relation to Him or learn how they are loved.

In Morgan L. Busse’s Mark of the Raven, for example, main character Selene encounters a soul that looks luminous while using her magical dreamwalking gift. She has never seen a soul this bright, and later comes to learn that its owner is a follower of The Light. Throughout the series, she discovers how she can embrace The Light and free her soul of darkness too.

Christian fantasy has also become the home of “clean” fantasy. Readers who become jaded by the excessive violence, sex, and debauchery found in other books look for a palette cleanser with stories that maintain gripping narratives, high stakes, and compelling characters. Young adult fiction used to be the first place to look for this kind of story. Intended for younger readers, it most often refrained from explicit material. More recently, however, authors and publishers have realized that older audiences are reading young adult fiction and have begun adding adult elements back into the stories, thus defeating the purpose.

Conclusion

The need for clean, creative, hopeful stories has never been greater, and readers has never been more ready to receive it. Christian fantasy takes on the realities of evil, suffering, and brokenness. But it does so in way that engages the imagination and inspires the spirit. Far from drawing people away from their Creator, it is an entertainment medium that can—and should—be used to bring Him glory.

Sources:

Other Resources:

Enclave Publishing is an independent publishing house that only releases speculative fiction books written by Christians.
Lorehaven.com is a large library of Christian speculative fiction from a variety of authors.