Religion in The Chronicles of Narnia facts for kids
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels written by C. S. Lewis. These books are loved by many and are considered classics for children. Over 100 million copies have been sold in 47 different languages! The stories include ideas from Christianity, Greek mythology, Roman mythology, and even old British folklore and Irish folklore.
Christian Ideas in Narnia
C. S. Lewis became a Christian as an adult. He had written other books about Christian ideas before Narnia. But he didn't plan to put Christian themes into the Narnia stories at first. They just started to appear as he wrote them.
Lewis explained this in an essay. He said he didn't start by thinking, "How can I teach Christianity to kids?" He didn't plan it out like that. Instead, he started with images in his mind. These were things like a faun with an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, and a magnificent lion. At first, these images had nothing Christian about them. The Christian ideas simply "pushed themselves in" as he wrote.
Lewis was an expert on allegory. An allegory is a story where characters and events clearly represent other things. For example, a character might represent "hope." But Lewis said the Narnia books were not allegories. He felt there wasn't a perfect match between Narnia characters and Christian ideas.
He preferred to call the Christian parts "suppositional." This means he imagined Narnia as a different world. He wondered, "What if Christ came to a world like Narnia? What would he be like there?"
Lewis wrote that if Aslan was just a symbol for God, then it would be an allegory. But Aslan is more than that. He is an imaginary answer to a question. The question is: "What would Christ be like if he chose to become a living being and die and rise again in a world like Narnia, just as he did in our world?" Lewis believed this was not an allegory.
Even though Lewis didn't plan the Christian themes, he was happy to point them out later. In a letter, he explained why Aslan is a lion. He said that since Narnia has talking animals, Christ would become a talking animal there. He chose a lion because lions are seen as kings of beasts. Also, Christ is called "The Lion of Judah" in the Bible. Plus, Lewis had strange dreams about lions when he started writing.
Lewis explained how each book connects to Christian ideas:
- The Magician's Nephew tells about the creation of Narnia. It also shows how evil first entered that world.
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe shows ideas like the death and return to life of Christ.
- Prince Caspian is about bringing back true beliefs after they were lost.
- The Horse and His Boy is about someone who doesn't know Christ finding faith.
- The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader" explores spiritual growth, especially through the character of Reepicheep.
- The Silver Chair shows the ongoing fight against evil forces.
- The Last Battle describes the end of the Narnian world and a final judgment.
When the movie The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe came out in 2005, people became very interested in these Christian ideas again. Some people don't like the Christian themes. They say these themes are easy to miss if you don't know much about Christianity. Some Christians see the Narnia books as great tools for sharing their faith. Many books have been written just about Christianity in the Narnia novels.
One writer, Alan Jacobs, said that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has two main parts. First, the rightful king of Narnia returns to bring peace. Second, that same king gives up his life to save someone who betrayed him. So, the story is about a kingdom and being saved. Many people have noticed how Aslan's death and return are like the death and return of Jesus in the Bible. Aslan was made fun of before he died. People mourned him. Then, his body was gone from where it was laid. Another character, Edmund, has been compared to Judas from the Bible.
Pagan Ideas in Narnia
Some Christians have criticized The Chronicles of Narnia. They feel the books promote "soft-sell paganism and occultism." This is because the stories include themes from old pagan religions. Also, some don't like that Christ is shown as an animal-like lion.
For example, the Greek god Dionysus and his followers, the Maenads, are shown in a good way. Even a "River god" is shown positively. These are usually seen as pagan ideas. Josh Hurst from Christianity Today said that Lewis didn't call his books Christian allegories. He also said the stories borrow just as much from pagan myths as they do from the Bible. Some non-religious critics also feel the books are religious propaganda.
Lewis himself believed that pagan myths could help people get ready for Christianity. He thought this was true both in history and in a person's imagination. He even suggested that modern people might need to become "good pagans" first, and then Christians. He also said that enjoying classical mythology has been part of Christian culture for a long time. He believed European stories have always had three types of themes: natural things, supernatural things believed to be true (like religion), and supernatural things believed to be imaginary (like myths).
Colin Duriez, who has written books about Lewis, thinks Lewis believed he needed to use pre-Christian ideas to reach people in a modern world. Lewis didn't like modern life. He thought it was too mechanical and cut off from nature. But he had almost no problems with older pagan cultures. Christian critics have pointed out that Lewis disliked the non-religious side of modern times. But he didn't dislike the idea of many gods in pagan religions.
Calormen is the only openly pagan society in the Narnian world. Their religion focuses on Tash. Tash is a god believed to be an ancestor of the Calormene royal family. They also have other gods like Azaroth and Zardeenah. The Calormene religion can be compared to old Middle Eastern pagan religions before Islam.
