Right-Wing Radicalization May Begin by Reading J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis

I posted on this when the story first broke (here & here). Our daughter, who is as hard-left as I am hard-right loves them both. 

From The European Conservative

By Jan Bentz

Anti-terrorism preventative unit faces backlash after ludicrous categorization of Christian and conservative classics.

The British government’s anti-terrorism Prevent unit has published a report that claims reading authors such as Tolkien, Lewis, Huxley, and Orwell could lead to “right-wing extremism.”

The “Prevent duty,” instituted by the UK in 2011, is part of an overall counter-terrorism strategy, called “Contest.” It aims to reduce terrorist threats through preventative measures. This includes “preventing people from being drawn into terrorism,” as the report states.

According to the report, published in February 2023, reading the works of Christian writers, such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, could lead to “radicalization.” The government’s blacklist includes—in an instance not lacking irony— George Orwell’s 1984 and even a BBC documentary series following former Conservative minister, Michael Portillo, on train journeys across the country. Additionally, according to the report, key signs that people have an affinity for the “far-right and Brexit,”—apparently associating Brexit with right-wing extremism—include watching the TV series, Civilization and The Thick of It, and reading classics of political philosophy, such as Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government, and Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France. The works of Thomas Carlyle and Adam Smith are also on the list.

The Prevent program is focused on “non-violent extremism” defined as: “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.” The theological, apologetic, and fantasy content of the aforementioned authors seems to fall under that category.

Following an independent review, containing 34 recommendations for updating the Prevent programme, British Home Secretary Suella Braverman confirmed that the review will be acted on, and all 34 recommendations will be “delivered on.”

Author and political analyst Douglas Murray commented in a column for The Spectator: 

But what does it say about our country that we could ever have got here? Prevent was meant to protect people. It evolved, in time, into something committed to going against almost everything about our country, including its people. People may be angry about this. But anger is not enough. I want accountability. I want names, Home Secretary. And then I want to hear of sackings by the score.

As the Christian Institute noted: 

Christians must not be able to be branded as potential extremists for holding socially conservative beliefs, and nor must C.S. Lewis, Tolkien or even Michael Portillo and his trains be baselessly accused of promoting radicalisation. You cannot protect democracy by undermining the foundations of democracy.

C.S. Lewis books, including The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity, have been translated into multiple languages and sold millions of copies worldwide and enjoy enduring popularity and wide recognition. J.R.R. Tolkien is hailed by many as the founder of high fantasy. His countless stories are set in Middle Earth, and are deemed classics of the genre. Having been translated into over 50 languages, they have sold millions of copies worldwide and have been adapted for film and television.