John S. Strong is an American academic, who is the Charles A. Dana Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at

Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...

. Strong specializes in Buddhist studies and with emphasis on the Buddha's biography, relics, and the legends and cults of South Asia. John Strong was born in China, and completed his secondary education in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. He graduated from the

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of highe ...

, where he joined the

Phi Beta Kappa Society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

. He then obtained a master's degree at the Hartford Seminary Foundation. Strong received his Ph.D. in History of Religions from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

in 1977, and joined Bates in 1978. He received a fellowship from the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

in 1982, as an Assistant Professor of Religion. He was promoted to a full professor in 1986.

Research

Strong's research program is in the area of Buddhist Studies, with a special focus on Buddhist legendary and cultic traditions in India and South Asia. He has received fellowships for his work from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Fulbright Foundation and the Guggenheim Foundation, and has been a visiting professor at the University of Peradeniya, the University of Chicago, and Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford Universities. He is the author of numerous articles and of The Legend of King Asoka (Princeton, 1983), The Legend and Cult of Upagupta(Princeton, 1992), The Experience of Buddhism (Wadsworth, 1995), The Buddha: A Beginner’s Guide (OneWorld Publications, 2001), Relics of the Buddha (Princeton, 2004), and Buddhisms: An Introduction (OneWorld, 2015).

References

External links

Profile at Bates

2011 CV
Living people American Buddhist studies scholars American religion academics Bates College faculty Hartford Seminary alumni University of Chicago alumni 1948 births {{Buddhism-bio-stub

Research

See also

References

External links