Somewhat off-putting...
...and make people with a lot of religious values want to throw the book across the room.
but you've sold me! :-) Actually I think I'll stick to books that make a point, good, bad, or ugly. It's been a long time since I've read fantasy -- I was big into D&D in high school when I read my first fantasy novel (The Sword of Shannara, a Tolkien rip-off) -- and I've only recently re-read LOTR because of the movie. Where does one go after Tolkien? Any suggestions?
Other than those, hmm... older stuff can be good. Without knowing your tastes I can't recommend anything specific.
My experience is that there is no place to go after Tolkien. You started your climb at the mountain's peak, and the only direction to go is down. I had the same experience--I basically started my fantasy reading with "The Hobbit," progressed to LOTR, and then pretty much gave up the genre for sf. Since science fiction is my true love anyway, this was not much of a sacrifice. :)
There are those who will disagree, of course, but I see most other fantasy as a pale imitation of Tolkien.
"The Chronicals of Narnia" stands on it's own, however, and the Thomas Convenant series are notable achievements in world-building.
I would also recommend Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series--a self-concious attempt to write fantasy which does not fit the "elves, dwarves and wizards" mold. It's set in a colonial America where folk-magic is real and the East Coast has developed as a Balkanized arrangment of nations, colonies, territories, etc. Card being a Mormon, the series is also supposed to be an allegorical retelling of the story of Joseph Smith. Not being a Mormon myself, most of said allegory is lost on me.
If you want to read material which is at least as good as Tolkien, I am afraid you will have to turn to the classics: The Oddessey, The Illiad, Beowulf.