Professor Emeritus
Personal information | ||
25-02-1948 |
Born in Elmhurst, Illinois, USA, resident in Denmark since 1970 and married. Danish citizen June 2003. | |
06-02-2006 |
Knight of the Dannebrog Order. | |
21-09-2018 |
Knight First Class of the Dannebrog Order | |
Credentials | ||
1969 |
B.A., University of Wisconsin. | |
1978 |
Magister Artium in the History of Religions, Aarhus University. | |
1992 |
Postdoctoral Degree in Philosophy at the same university. | |
Employment history | ||
1979 -1981 |
Adjunktvikar, Institut for Religionshistorie, Aarhus University. | |
1982 |
Ekstern lektor same place. | |
1983 - 1984 |
Seniorstipendiat same place. | |
1984 - 1995 |
Associate Professor, Institute for Religionshistorie until 1990; new name: Institute for Religionsvidenskab (Dept. of the Study of Religion), Aarhus University. | |
1995 - 2018 |
Professor in the History of Religions, Department of the Study of Religion, Aarhus University. | |
2017 - 2018 |
Jens Chr. Skou Senior Fellow, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University. | |
2019ff. |
Emeritus Professor, Department of the Study of Religion, Aarhus University | |
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Administrative positions |
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1980 - 1982 |
Chair, Curriculum Board of the History of Religions, University of Aarhus. | |
1981 |
Observer, Institute Council for Christian Studies, University of Aarhus. | |
1981 |
Chair, Student Handbook Sub-Committee under the Curriculum Board of Religious Studies, University of Aarhus. | |
1982 |
Chair, New Curriculum Sub-Committee under the Curriculum Board of the History of Religions, University of Aarhus. | |
1984 - 1985 |
Chair, Curriculum Board of the History of Religions, University of Aarhus. | |
1984 - 1985 |
Member of the Faculty Curriculum Board of the Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. | |
1985 |
Observer, Institute Council for Christian Studies, University of Aarhus. | |
1985 |
Chair, New Curriculum Committee under the Curriculum Board of the History of Religions, University of Aarhus. | |
1985 |
Member, Sub-Committee for the establishment of the Center of North Atlantic Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Aarhus. | |
1986 - 1987 |
Member, Curriculum Board of the History of Religions, University of Aarhus. | |
1986 - 1987 |
Head, Department of the History of Religions, University of Aarhus. | |
1986 - 1987 |
Member, Coordinating Sub-Committee for Philosophy under the Curriculum Board of the Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. | |
1986 - 1989 |
Member of the Faculty Council, Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. | |
1986 - 1994 |
Member, Guest Lectures Sub-Committee, Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. | |
1986 |
Coordinator, Two Semester Course in the History of Religions, Jutland Open University, University of Aarhus. | |
1986 |
Chair, Sub-Committee for Long-Term Planning under the Institute Council for the Department of the History of Religions, University of Aarhus. | |
1986 - 1991 |
Member, Series Committee, Aarhus University Press. | |
1987 - 1990 |
Chair, External Evaluator Corps for the History of Religions, University of Copenhagen and member, External Evaluator Corps for the Sociology of Religion, University of Copenhagen. | |
1987 - 1994 |
Substitute member, Representative Board of Denmarks Computer Center, University of Aarhus. | |
1987 - 1994 |
Substitute member, the Central Computer Committee, University of Aarhus. | |
1987 - 1994 |
Member, Board of Christian Reventlows Remembrance Fond and Christian Reventlows Book Collection, University of Aarhus. | |
1987 |
Co-author Student Handbook for the History of Religions, University of Aarhus. | |
1987 |
Member, Working Seminar at the Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus on Proposals for the "Growth Areas" of the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. | |
1989 - 1990 |
Chair, Department of the History of Religions and negotiator of the fusion of the Department of the History of Religions with the Department of Religion, formerly Christian Studies (to the new Department of the Study of Religion), University of Aarhus. | |
1991 |
Chair, Curriculum Board of the Study of Religion, University of Aarhus. | |
1991 |
Member, Curriculum Board of the Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. | |
1991 |
Chair, Revision of the Curriculum Sub-Committee for the Study of Religion, University of Aarhus. | |
1991 |
Co-author of the Student Handbook for the Study of Religion, University of Aarhus. | |
1992 - 2002 |
Chair, Computer Committee, Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. | |
1992 - 1994 |
Member, Research Education Committee under the Institute Council of the Department of the Study of Religion, University of Aarhus. | |
1993 - 1994 |
Member, Board of the Department of the Study of Religion, University of Aarhus. | |
1993 - 1994 |
Member, Council of the Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. | |
1993 - 1997 |
Chair, Research Network on New Religions (RENNER) under the Research Council for the Humanities. | |
1994 - 2002 |
Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. | |
1994 - 2002 |
Chair, Annual Festival Committee, Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. | |
1994 - 2002 |
Member, Sub-Committee on University Pedagogics under the Council of the University of Aarhus. | |
1994 - 2000 |
Member, House and Building Committee, Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. | |
1994 - 2002 |
Member, the Central Computer Sub-Committee under the Council of the University of Aarhus. | |
1998 - 1999 |
Member, Information Committee, Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. | |
1998 - 2017 |
Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Religious Denominations for the Ministry of Ecclesiastics (1998ff.) | |
1998 - 1999 |
Working Group on developing an ICT policy for the University of Aarhus. | |
1998 - 2002 |
Co-chair, a globalisation project under the Research Council for the Humanities called RENNER II. | |
1998 - 2002 |
Member, Working Group on Development Research, University of Aarhus. | |
1999 - 2002 |
Member, Sub-Committee on Information and Communication Technology in Teaching under the Council Body of the University of Aarhus. | |
1999 - 2002 |
Chair, Sub-Committee on Audio-Visual Technology, Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. | |
2000 - 2002 |
Chair, Sub-Committee on ICT, the Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. | |
2002ff. |
Member of External Evaluator Corps for the Study of Religion. | |
2003 - 2004 |
Co-chair of the Faculty of Theology's special project area: "Religious Narrative, Cognition and Culture". | |
2004ff. |
Member of the Academic Committee of the Faculty of Theology. | |
2005 - 2008 |
Chair of the Faculty of Theology's special project area: "Religion, Cognition and Culture". | |
2005 |
In connection with an auditing of the Faculty of Theology by the Evaluation Institute, I was a member of the "Self Evaluation Committee" and chair of "Sub-Committee 2: Research". | |
2005ff. |
Representative of the Faculty of Theology on the Board of the Research Foundation of the University of Aarhus. | |
2005ff. |
Member of the Board of the Research Network on European History of Religions (FEUR) under the auspices of the Danish Research Council for the Humanities (2005ff.) | |
2009 - 2015 |
Chair of the Religion, Cognition and Culture (RCC) Research Unit at the Department of the Study of Religion. | |
2006 - 2007 |
Member of the National Network under the Ministry of Research and Innovation concerning the European Union 7th Research Program (FP7). | |
2007 - 2016 |
Member of the Study of Religion and Theology research group concerning bibliometric research indicators. | |
2009 - 2014 |
Co-PI, Member of the Board of MINDLab (UNIK), Aarhus University. Head of the Cognition and Culture Stream. | |
2009 |
Member of the Sino-Danish Center for Neuroscience and Cognition, Beijing and Aarhus. | |
2010 - 2018 |
Member of Interdisciplinary Evolutionary Studies, AU. | |
2012 - 2016 |
Chairman of the Board, Interacting Minds Centre, AU. | |
2012 - 2016 |
Co-Founder of and responsible for the double PhD-program in Cognitive Science of Religion together with Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. | |
2014 - 2016 |
Member of the Denomination Committee under the Ministry of Ecclesiastics to present a law proposal concerning denominations outside of the Danish Lutheran Church | |
2015 |
Director of the Research Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Religion, AU | |
2016 |
Director of the Research Program for the Study of Religion, AU | |
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International offices |
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1987 - 1994 |
Co-founder and Chairman (1987-1988) of Nordiska Samarbetskommittén för Religionshistorisk Forskning. | |
1987 - 1997 |
Co-founder and associate editor of European Review of Native American Studies, Vienna. | |
1987 - 1991 |
Co-founder and European Director of the Society for the Study of Native American Religious Traditions. | |
1987 - 2022 |
Associate Editor of Temenos: Studies in Comparative Religion Presented by Scholars in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, Helsinki. | |
1987 - 1989 |
Co-founder and co-editor of NORREL-Bulletinen. | |
1989 - 1991 |
Co-founder and co-editor of Journal for the Study of Native American Religious Traditions, San Diego & Tacoma. | |
1990 - 1995 |
Editorial advisor for the series Studies in Native American Literatures, Washington: Smithsonian Institution. | |
1990 - 2005 |
Member, Editorial Board of Numen. International Review for the History of Religions, Leiden: E. J. Brill. | |
1990 - 1995 |
Treasurer of the International Association for the History of Religions. | |
1992 - 1996 |
National Editor (Denmark) for Temenos. Studies in Comparative Religions, Helsinki: Finnish Academy. | |
1993 - 2001 |
Member, North American Board of Religion. An International Journal, Los Angeles & London: Academic Press. | |
1995 - 2005 |
General Secretary of the International Association for the History of Religions. | |
1996 - 2003 |
Editorial consultant, Nova Religio. The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, New York: Seven Bridges Press. | |
1996ff. |
Member, Advisory Committee of 'Ilu. Revista de Ciencias de las Religiones, Madrid: Universidad Complutense. | |
2000ff. |
Expert advisor for NorFA (Nordisk Forskerutdanningsakademi), Oslo Norge. | |
2000ff. |
Member, Editorial Board of Method & Theory in the Study of Religion, Leiden: E. J. Brill. | |
2000 - 2001 |
Referee for Research Support Scheme, Open Society Institute, Budapest, Hungary. | |
2001 |
Expert advisor for Central Asia Research Initiative (CARI), Higher Education Support Programme, Budapest, Hungary | |
2002ff. |
Member, Editorial Board, Culture and Religion. An Interdisciplinary Journal, Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Carfax Publishing, Taylor & Francis Ltd. | |
2002 |
Expert advisor for National Research Foundation (Cape Town, South Africa) | |
2003 - 2005 |
Member, Advisory Board of Numen Book Series, Leiden: E. J. Brill. | |
2003 - 2005 |
Member, Advisory Board of Science of Religion Abstracts and Index of Recent Articles, Leiden: E. J. Brill. | |
2005 |
Member of the founding ad hoc committee and Founding Member of the International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion. | |
2006ff. |
Secretary General of the International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion. | |
2006 & 2007 |
Foreign reviewer for the Czech Science Foundation. | |
2007ff. |
Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Anthropological Psychology, Århus: Department of Psychology, University of Aarhus. | |
2007ff. |
Member, Editorial Board, Culture and Research, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University. | |
2007 - 2010 |
Project Partner, "Explaining Religion", Specific Targeted Research Project under the Sixth Framework Programme on Research, Technological Development and Demonstration of the European Commission. | |
2007 - 2010 |
Member, Congress Organizing Committee, XXth IAHR Quinquennial World Congress, 15-21 August, 2010, Toronto, Canada. | |
2008 |
Member, Review Panel for the Joint Division/EPSC Review of the School of Anthropology, Oxford University. | |
2009 |
Foreign reviewer for Swedish Social Science Research. | |
2009 |
Assessor for EUROCORES Theme Proposals 2009, Strasbourg. | |
2009ff. |
Member, Editorial Board, Moscow eJournal of Religion (MeJR), Moscow Society for the Study of Religions. | |
2009ff. |
Member, Scientific Board, Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni, Dipartimento di Studi storico religiosi, Sapienza Università di Roma, Italia. | |
2010ff. |
Member, Editorial Board, Religion, Brain, and Behavior, London: Taylor & Francis Group. | |
2010 |
Foreign reviewer for Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. | |
2011 |
Peer reviewer for Cognitive Science Society's international conference in Boston, July 20-23, 2011 | |
2012 |
Member of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion's Consultation on The Future of the International Association for the History of Religions. | |
2012 - 2017 |
Senior Partner and member of Research Committee Advisory Board for Cultural Evolution of Religion Research Consortium financed by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. | |
2012ff. |
Partner in New Partnership Program for the Connection to the Top Labs in the World financed by National Science Council (NSC), Taiwan. | |
2012 - 2014 |
Præsident of International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion. | |
2014 - 2016 |
Past President of International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion. | |
2016ff. |
Member of Advisory Board for Simulating Religion Project, Institute for the Biocultural Study of Religion (Boston) and Virginia Modeling, Analysis & Simulation Center. | |
2016ff. |
Member of European Science Foundation - College of Expert Reviewers. | |
2017 |
Member of evaluation committee for Fund for National Scientific Research – FNRS, Belgium. | |
2017 - 2019 |
Member of Advisory Board for Religion and the Social Brain, Cambridge University. | |
2017 - 2021 |
Member of Advisory Board for The Spread of Christianity in Cultural Evolutionary Perspective, Helsinki University. | |
2019 |
Member of evaluation committee for Fund for National Scientific Research – FNRS, Belgium. | |
2020 |
Chair of the committee to appoint Honorary Life Members of the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR). | |
2021ff. |
Member of the Editorial Board of the book series LARES – I linguaggi delle religioni, Pàtron Editore. | |
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Grants |
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1978 - 1979 |
Fieldwork on the Hopi Indian Reservation, financed by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. | |
1979 - 1984 |
Transcription and translation of taped interviews from fieldwork on the Hopi Indian Reservation supported by the Danish Research Council of the Humanities. | |
1982 |
Fieldwork on the Hopi Indian Reservation, financed by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. | |
1986 - 1988 |
Transcription and translation of taped interviews from fieldwork on the Hopi Indian Reservation supported by the Research Foundation of the University of Aarhus. | |
1988 |
Fieldwork on the Hopi Indian Reservation, supported by the Research Foundation of the University of Aarhus. | |
1992 |
Fieldwork on the Hopi Indian Reservation, financed by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. | |
1993 - 1997 |
Grant establish the Research Network on New Religions under the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. | |
1993 |
Fieldwork on the Hopi Indian Reservation suppported by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. | |
1994 |
Fieldwork on the Hopi Indian Reservation suppported by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. | |
1994 |
Fieldwork on the Hopi Indian Reservation suppported by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. | |
1995 |
Fieldwork on the Hopi Indian Reservation suppported by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. | |
1997 |
Fieldwork on the Hopi Indian Reservation suppported by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. | |
1998 - 2001 |
"Globalization and New Religions - Local and Global". Danish Research Council for the Humanities. | |
2000 - 2001 |
Fieldwork on different Native American reservations in the U.S. and Canada supported by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik Foundation. | |
2003 - 2004 |
The Faculty of Theology's special project area: "Religious Narrative, Cognition and Culture". | |
2005 - 2008 |
The Faculty of Theology's special project area: "Religion, Cognition and Culture". | |
2007 - 2010 |
"Explaining Religion", Specific Targeted Research Project under the Sixth Framework Programme on Research, Technological Development and Demonstration of the European Commission. | |
2009 - 2014 |
MINDLab (UNIK award), Rearch and Innovation Ministry. | |
2012 - 2016 |
Interacting Minds Centre, AU. | |
2012 - 2017 |
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada - Cultural Evolution of Religion Research Consortium. | |
2015 - 2017 |
Co-investigator of the project "Cognitive Approaches to Ancient Religious Experience" funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (United Kingdom) together with Dr. Esther Eidinow, Classics Department, University of Nottingham. | |
2015 - 2016 |
"An explorative tekst mining analysis of Teresa af Ávila’s collected works and letters", Aarhus University Research Foundation. | |
2017 - 2018 |
Jens Christian Skou Fellowship, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, AU. | |
2017 - 2019 |
Religion and the Social Brain, Cambridge University. | |
Other activities | ||
1982 |
Co-founder and member of Jysk Selskab for Religionsvidenskab, Århus: University of Aarhus. | |
1982 - 1987 |
Co-founder and editor-in-chief, Religionsvidenskabeligt tidsskrift, Århus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag. | |
1982 - 1994 |
Co-founder and President of the Danish Association for the History of Religions (DAHR), affiliated to the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) since 1985. | |
1993 - 2000 |
Editor-in-chief, RENNER News, Aarhus & Copenhagen: RENNER. | |
1993 - 2005 |
Editor-in-chief, RENNER Series on New Religions, Aarhus: Aarhus University Press. | |
1993 - 2005 |
Editor-in-chief, Gyldendal - Nye religioner, København: Gyldendal. | |
1997 - 2002 |
Member, Editorial Board of Studies on Religion, Aarhus: Aarhus University Press. | |
1997 - 2002 |
Member, Editorial Board, Religionsvidenskabelig skriftserie, Århus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag. | |
2002 - 2004 |
Chair, Editorial Board, Studies on Religion, Aarhus: Aarhus University Press. | |
2002 - 2004 |
Editor-in-chief, Religionsvidenskabelig skriftserie, Århus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag. | |
2007ff. |
Co-editor, Religion, Cognition and Culture, Sheffield: Equinox Publishers, later Routledge. | |
2012ff. |
Co-founder and senior editor of Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion,Sheffield: Equinox Publishers. | |
2015ff. |
Co-founder and editor-in-chief of Advances in the Cognitive Science of Religion, Sheffield: Equinox Publishers. | |
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Peer Reviews of Book and Article Submissions | ||
2006 |
Ethnic and Racial Studies, Guildford: University of Surrey. | |
2008 |
Cambridge University Press. | |
2008 |
Oxford University Press. | |
2008 |
American Antiquity, Charlottesville, VA, USA. | |
2008 |
Religion, Amsterdam: Elvesier. | |
2009 |
Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, Leiden: Brill. | |
2009 |
Tidsskrift for Forskning i Sygdom og Samfund, Aarhus: Aarhus University. | |
2010 |
AlterNative, Auckland: University of Auckland. | |
2010 |
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Oxford: Oxford University Press. | |
2010 |
Religion, Amsterdam: Elvesier. | |
2010 |
History of Religions, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. | |
2010 |
Toronto Journal of Theology, Toronto: University of Toronto. | |
2010 |
Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, Leiden: Brill. | |
2011 |
American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Los Angeles: UCLA American Indian Studies Center | |
2012 |
International Journal for the Psychology of Religion Abingdon: Taylor & Francis. | |
2012 |
Advances in Complex Systems, World Scientific Publishing. | |
2012 |
Oxford University Press. | |
2012 |
Secularism and Nonreligion. | |
2013 |
Scientific Studies of Religion. | |
2014 |
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. | |
2014 |
Religion. | |
2014 |
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. | |
2015 |
Sophia. International Journal of Philosophy and Traditions. | |
2015 |
Numen. | |
2015 |
Bloomsbury Academic. | |
2016 |
Religion, Brain, & Behavior. | |
2016 |
Method and Theory in the Study of Religion. | |
2016 |
Avant. The Journal of the Philosophical-Interdisciplinary Vanguard. | |
2017 |
Routledge. | |
2017 |
Numen. | |
2018 |
Aarhus Universitetsforlag. | |
2018 |
Routledge. | |
2018 |
Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture. | |
2018 |
Zygon. | |
2018 |
Numen. | |
2018 |
Journal of the American Academy of Religion. | |
2018 |
Journal of Cognitive Historiography. | |
2018 |
Religion, Brain, & Behavior. | |
2018 |
Springer Publishers. | |
2019 |
Archiv für Religionspsychologie. | |
2019 |
Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture. | |
2019 |
Religion. | |
2019 |
Religion, Brain, & Behavior. | |
2019 |
Archive for the Psychology of Religion. | |
2020 |
Palgrave Macmillan. | |
2021 |
Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift | |
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