How ‘Christian’ was C.S. Lewis?
The most popular Christian writer in the world is a stranger, darker, queerer figure than one might expect
12 min readMay 11, 2024
He is said to be the most popular Christian writer. C.S. Lewis was a British intellectual who converted to the faith—and helped millions more do the same.
He lived from 1898 to 1963, and became beloved for his spiritual memoirs and his Chronicles of Narnia children’s novels—about to be filmed for Netflix by acclaimed director Greta Gerwig.
But over the years, Lewis biographers have found much about him that was strange, dark, queer. I’m watching Christianity trying to deal with its most popular writer—who doesn’t seem so ‘Christian’.
That Lewis was extremely weird is not new.
A 2017 article in The Daily Beast was headlined: “The Odd Story of C.S. Lewis, An Extremely Odd Man.”
Day by day, Christians try—delicately—to deal with much about him that’s expected. Like why did he hate kids so much?
