The Conversions of C.S. Lewis: Notes on Rethinking Their Chronology and Character

This essay seeks to contribute to ongoing study of the chronology and characteristics of C.S. Lewis's multi-step conversion to Christianity by inviting new consideration of features of three moments or phases of that process. Section 1 proposes adding ‘conversion to conscience’ in early 1930 as an identifiable phase in the process. Section 2 enters discussion of the dating of Lewis's conversion to theism in June or July of 1930 and its relation to his learning to dive, with attention to the emotional intensity of that conversion. Section 3 re-reads Lewis's explanations of his conversion to Christianity in the autumn of 1931, noting the extended time it took and the nature of his hesitancies before full commitment.