well this is a matter of taste and i've already made clear i don't share that opinion. however, what you said earlier to doug comparing it to the bible is quite wrong. i'm willing to bet that the percentage of people in the US that have read *any* of LOTR is pretty small, like less tahn 10%. except for people fond of mining it for metaphors to describe all of human behavior, i don't think there are a lot of churches devoted to the theology of middle earth. i can't find one in the yellow pages of the 4th largest city in the US.
otoh, i'd bet the percentage of people that have read none of the bible to be less than 10% and the countryside is littered with monuments to the so-called judeo-xtian dog. i wonder which literary tradition exerts more influence on the culture and politics of our society?
christians, for example, prevent me from buying liquor on sunday. so far the acolytes of frodo have not interfered with my recreational substances.
if you want to understand 'western civilization', i'd say the bible is pretty core reading. i can't think of any non-circular reference to things in our society that are well explained by the stories in LOTR; it just isn't that universal.