Edwin Oliver James (30 March 1888 – 6 July 1972) was an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

in the field 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 human migration, migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study ...

. He was Professor Emeritus of the History and Philosophy of Religion in the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, Fellow of

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and Fellow of

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. During his long career he had been Professor of History and Philosophy of Religion at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, Lecturer at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

and Wilde Lecturer at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. James received his education at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

and at

, where he studied under the noted

egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

Sir

William Matthew Flinders Petrie Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Sir Flinders Petrie, was an English Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. He held the first chair of ...

. James was also a member of the

Folklore Society The Folklore Society (FLS) is a registered charity under English law based in London, England for the study of folklore. Its office is at 50 Fitzroy Street, London home of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. It wa ...

, serving as its president from 1930 to 1932.

Works

*''Evolution and the Fall'' (1923) *''The Beginnings of Man'' (1928) *''The Christian Faith in the Modern World. A Study in Scientific Theology''. *''A History of Christianity in England'' *''Christian Myth And Ritual: A Historical Study'' (1933) *''Origins of Sacrifice: A Study in Comparative Religion'' (1933) *''Thieves of Mercy'' (1934) poems *''The Old Testament in the Light of Anthropology'' (1935) *''The Origins of Religion'' (1937) *''Comparative Religion: An Introductory and Historical Study'' (1938) *''Primitive Belief and Ritual'' *''The Social Function of Religion'' (1948) *''The Concept of Deity. The Wilde Lectures'' (1950) *''Marriage and Society'' (1952) *''History of Religions'' (1956) *''Prehistoric Religion: A Study in Prehistoric Archaeology'' (1957) *''Myths and Ritual in the Ancient Near East'' (1958) *''The Beginnings of Religion: An Introductory & Scientific Study'' (1958) *''The Cult of the Mother Goddess: An Archaeological and Documentary Study'' (1959) *''The Comparative Study of Religions of the East (Excluding Christianity and Judaism)''. *''The Ancient Gods: The History and Diffusion of Religion in the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean'' (1960) *''Nature and Function of Priesthood: A Comparative and Anthropological Study'' (1961) *''Seasonal Feasts and Festivals'' (1961) *''Sacrifice and Sacrament'' (1962) *''The Worship of the Sky-God, A Comparative Study in Semitic and Indo-European Religion'' (1963) *''Marriage Customs Through the Ages'' (1965) *''From Cave to Cathedral : Temples and Shrines of Prehistoric, Classical and Early Christian Times'' (1965) *''The Tree of Life: An Archaeological Study'' (1966) *''Christianity and other religions'' (1968) *''Creation and Cosmology: a historical and comparative inquiry'' (1969)

References

External links

A memoir of EO James, by David Brown
1888 births 1972 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Alumni of University College London Academics of University College London Academics of the University of Leeds Academics of King's College London Fellows of King's College London British historians of religion Anthropologists of religion Anthropology educators British theologians Anthropology writers 20th-century English historians 20th-century British anthropologists Presidents of the Folklore Society Scholars of comparative religion {{reli-anthropologist-stub