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[German Version] (Aug 29, 1858, Saint-Germain-en-Laye – Nov 4, 1932, Paris), French art historian and archaeologist, specializing in the classical world; cofounder of the iconological method ( Cultes, mythes et réligions, vol. I, 1905; ET [selections]: Cults, Myths and Religions, 1912). The second son of a banking family, he was interested in ancient Greek civilization and art history in general. From 1902 he served as director of the Musée des Antiquités Nationales; in the same year he was also appointed to a chair ( Professeur de numismatique) at the Collège de France. His scho…

[German Version] (baptized Lars Olof Jonathan; Jan 15, 1866, Trönö – Jul 12, 1931, Uppsala), Swedish Protestant theologian, historian of religion specializing ¶ in ancient Iranian religions, and an advocate of comparative phenomenology in religious studies. He was appointed archbishop of Uppsala in 1914 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1930 for his lifetime achievement. Although he is associated with the phenomenology of religion (I) in religious studies, in all his works he remained faithful to a theological perspect…

[German Version] (Nov 3, 1826, Dieppe – Oct 25, 1906, Paris), French Protestant theologian, advocate of liberal theology, historian of dogma. He is considered the father of the academic study of religion in France. Influenced during his studies by F.C. Baur and the Protestant Tübingen School, he became associated with the so-called Strasbourg School ( Revue de Strasbourg). After studying theology at Geneva and Strasbourg (1844–1848), he served in various positions (vicar, pastor, journalist) until 1880, when he was appointed professor of the history o…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Rationalization is a relatively recent umbrella term with a variety of meanings; it denotes the replacement of traditional and fortuitous processes by planned, structured, and repeatable methods, according to criteria of functionality, effectiveness, and controllability. Since the effect of such methods is in principle always open to improvement, rationalization remains a never-ending process. In religious studies, rationality characterizes the epistemological “t…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Philosophy – III. Dogmatics I. Religious Studies The origins (Ger. Ursprung) of something are an event or a set of events which, as a cause and in causal relationship with one another, constitute the initial shape of further events that ensue from the origins. Accordingly, the concept of origins must be understood on two levels of explication: (1) origins as a temporal conception in which the chronological beginning as well as the chronological proximity of origins and…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Philosophy – III. History of Dogma – IV. Ethics I. Religious Studies Blessedness is the goal of eudaemonist ethics (Eudaemonia; Eudaemonism) oriented toward well-being and a successful life, toward the optimal condition of an individual; earlier usage often referred to this condition as “happiness, bliss” (Happiness: I), the direct religious implication of this …