Gerardus (Gerard) van der Leeuw (18 March 1890 – 18 November 1950) was a Dutch historian and

philosopher of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning ph ...

, ordained minister and politician. Gerard van der Leeuw studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Ancient Greek, Greek , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian History of Egypt, history, Egyptian language, language, Ancient Egypt ...

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

, in Göttingen and Berlin. He was promoted there to doctor of theology in Leiden in 1916. After graduation he was called as ordained minister in the Dutch Reformed Church (

Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

): in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

as candidate and subsequently in

's-Heerenberg s-Heerenberg is a city on the Dutch- German border, in the Province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It is located about 5 km north of the German Emmerich, and about south of Doetinchem. It received city rights in 1379. 's-Heerenberg is the lo ...

with a full appointment. In 1918 he was appointed as professor in history of religion at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

. He applied the concept of phenomenology to religion. He is best known for his work ''Religion in Essence and Manifestation: A Study in Phenomenology'', an application of philosophical phenomenology to religion. It was first published in 1933 under the German title ''Phänomenologie der Religion'', translated into English in 1938 and into French in a revised and updated edition in 1948. From 1945–1946 Van der Leeuw was Minister of Education of the Netherlands for the Labour Party (appointed immediately after the end of the war). Before the war he had been a member of the conservative

Christian Historical Union The Christian Historical Union (, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged in September 1980. History 187 ...

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References

1890 births 1950 deaths Ministers of education of the Netherlands Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians 20th-century Dutch philosophers Politicians from The Hague Philosophers of religion Phenomenologists Academic staff of the University of Groningen Leiden University alumni Labour Party (Netherlands) MPs {{reli-philo-bio-stub