Tor Julius Efraim Andræ (; 9 July 1885 – 24 February 1947) was a Swedish clergyman, professor and scholar of

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...

who served as Bishop of the

Diocese of Linköping The Diocese of Linköping ( sv, Linköpings stift) is a diocese within the Church of Sweden administering the Östergötland County, the north eastern part of Jönköping County and the northern part of Kalmar County. It comprises nine deane ...

Biography

Andræ was born at Vena parish in Hultsfred Municipality in

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg, Jönköping, Blekinge and Östergötland. To the east in the Baltic Sea is the island Gotland. The counties are mainly administrative units. ...

, Sweden. He came from a clerical family. He was the son of pastor Anders Johan Andræ and Ida Nilsson. He studied theology at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1917. As a historian of religion, his particular interest lay in the early history of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

, particularly its Jewish and Christian origins, and in the

psychology of religion Psychology of religion consists of the application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to the diverse contents of religious traditions as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals. The various methods and frameworks c ...

, but he also combined these interests in the study of early

Islamic mysticism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

. He became church pastor at Gamla Uppsala in 1924. Between 1927 and 1929, he served as professor of religious history at

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, ...

and then became professor of theological encyclopedia at Uppsala University. Andræ was a student of

Nathan Söderblom Lars Olof Jonathan Söderblom (; 15 January 1866 – 12 July 1931) was a Swedish clergyman. He was the Church of Sweden Archbishop of Uppsala between 1914 and 1931, and recipient of the 1930 Nobel Peace Prize. He is commemorated in the Cale ...

, whom he succeeded as member of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is bes ...

in 1932. He was appointed Bishop of the

in 1936 and was the same year briefly Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs (Minister of Education) in the short-lived cabinet of Prime Minister

Axel Pehrsson-Bramstorp Axel Alarik Pehrsson-Bramstorp (born Axel Alarik Pehrsson; 19 August 1883 – 19 February 1954) was a Swedish politician and was Prime Minister of Sweden for a few months during 1936. As a parliamentarian he was known as Axel Pehrsson in Bramstor ...

. He died during 1947 in

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...

and was buried at Uppsala gamla kyrkogård. In 1985,

Annemarie Schimmel Annemarie Schimmel (7 April 1922 – 26 January 2003) was an influential German Orientalist and scholar who wrote extensively on Islam, especially Sufism. She was a professor at Harvard University from 1967 to 1992. Early life and education ...

remarked that until then only one study had "tried specifically to depict Muhammad's role in Islamic piety. Even today Tor Andrae's Die person Muhammeds in lehre und glaube seiner Gemeinde (1918) remains the standard work in this area, unsuperseded by any other major study, though complemented by random remarks in numerous modern work on Sufism. It is, however, unfortunately too little known even among Islamicists."

References

1885 births 1947 deaths People from Hultsfred Municipality Lutheran bishops of Linköping Swedish historians of religion Swedish orientalists Members of the Swedish Academy Uppsala University alumni 20th-century Swedish historians Burials at Uppsala old cemetery {{Bishop-stub