Reender Kranenborg (1 June 1942 – 8 April 2020) was a Dutch

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, pastor, and scholar of religion. He was editor of the magazine ''Religious Movement in the Netherlands'' published by the institute of

religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

of the Free University in Amsterdam. He researched cults as well as the anti-cult movement in the Netherlands.

Early life and education

Kranenborg was born 1 June 1942 in the city of

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

. He studied at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, before becoming a pastor. He received his PhD in 1974, in the theological faculty about the subject of self-realization. He stated in the dissertation that he had attempted to research the subject following the norms of religious studies, not a theological one.

Works

He was an editor of the magazine ''Religious Movement in the Netherlands'' published by the institute of

of the Free University in Amsterdam. He researched cults as well as the anti-cult movement in the Netherlands. He wrote several books on religious topics, including on Satanism and religions of the east. He retired in 2004. He had, until his retirement, a seat at the ''Comitato Scientifico'' (scientific committee) of the

CESNUR The Center for Studies on New Religions (), otherwise abbreviated as CESNUR, is a nonprofit organization based in Turin, Italy that focuses on the academic study of new religious movements and opposes the anti-cult movement. It was established ...

Death

Kranenborg died on 8 April 2020.

Selected bibliography

;English *''The Presentation of the Essenes in Western Esotericism.'' '' Journal of Contemporary Religion'', 13 (2): 245- 256. (1998). * ''New Religions in a Postmodern World'' (2003) Reender Kranenborg and Mikael Rothstein (Eds.)

Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...

Press *''Field Notes: Efraim: A New Apocalyptic Movement in the Netherlands'' in Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 2004, Vol. 7, No. 3, Pages 81–91. * ''Revelation and Experience in the Theosophical Tradition''. A paper presented at

2004 international conference, Baylor University, Waco (Texas), June 18-June 20, 2000
Available online
;Dutch *'' Zelfverwerkelijking: oosterse religies binnen een westerse subcultuur'' (1974) uitgegeven door J.H Kok Kampen Ph.D. dissertation *'' Transcendente meditatie: Verlangen naar zinvol leven en religie'', uitgegeven door Kok (1977) *''Oosterse geloofsbewegingen in het Westen: Bhagwan-beweging, Hare Krishna gemeenschap, Transcendente Meditatie, Healthy-Happy-Holy-Organization,

Divine Light Mission The Divine Light Mission (''Divya Sandesh Parishad''; DLM) was an organization founded in 1960 by guru Hans Ji Maharaj for his following in northern India. During the 1970s, the DLM gained prominence in the Western world, West under the leadership ...

Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

, Verenigingskerk'' (1982), uitgegeven door Zomer en Keuning - Ede, *''Een nieuw licht of de kerk?: bijdragen van nieuwe religieuze bewegingen voor de kerk van vandaag'' (1984), uitgegeven door Boekencentrum 's-Gravenhage *''De School voor Filosofie als neo-hindoeïstische beweging'' (Religieuze bewegingen in Nederland), VU Uitgeverij (1985) *''Woorden van de Meesters. Teksten van hedendaagse Indiase denkers over God, mens en wereld''. Bijeengebracht, vertaald en ingeleid door Reender Kranenborg, Delft, Meinema, 1988, *''Reïncarnatie en Christelijk geloof'', Kampen, KOK, 1989, *Kranenborg Reender Dr., Stoker Wessel, red, ''Religies en (on)gelijkheid in een plurale samenleving'', Leuven / Apeldoorn, Garant, 1995, *''Neohindoeïstische bewegingen in Nederland : een encyclopedisch overzicht'', uitgegeven door Kampen Kok (2002) ;French * ;Italian *''L’induismo'' published by Elledici, Leumann (Torino) 2003,

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kranenborg, Reender 1942 births Religious philosophers Researchers of new religious movements and cults Critics of the Unification Church CESNUR Western esotericism scholars 2020 deaths Dutch religion academics