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  Studies in Comparative Religion
The First English Journal on Traditional Studies - established 1963
 
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To visit a special web site, "Frithjof Schuon Archive," dedicated to featured Studies contributor Frithjof Schuon, click here.

 
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Thematic Editions of Studies Now Available

These editions combine articles previously published in Studies with newly written pieces that make the collections more comprehensive in their treatments of the given theme.

The fourth, and most recent, thematic edition of Studies is titled Psychology & the Perennial Philosophy. It was edited by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos, whose book reviews and other writings have been appearing in Perennialist publications. This edition contains eighteen articles by noteworthy expositors of the perennial philosophy such as Huston Smith, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and Frithjof Schuon. It's central objective is to present the spiritual psychology of the wisdom traditions as a much-needed antidote to the current impasse in modern psychology. The volume also contains an editorial by Bendeck Sotillos, three book reviews, and notes on the contributors. The contents of the main portion are organized into three sections titled “Critique,” “Theoria,” and “Praxis.” The volume has a total of 248 pages. Readers can click here to open a new window with more information on this newest Studies edition or to purchase it.

The third of the new editions is titled Education in the Light of Tradition, and it is now available. Edited by author, editor, and translator Jane Casewit, it examines many aspects of traditional education, as well as how it contrasts with modern educational concepts and practices. The traditions examined are extremely varied, and they include Native American, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhist, African, Christian, and more. Authors of the essays include Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Titus Burckhardt, William Chittick, Lord Northbourne, Joe Medicine Crow and Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa), Martin Lings, James S. Cutsinger, Ghislain Chetan, Jean Biès, the Jagadguru of Kanchipuram, and others. The volume also contains an editorial, book reviews, and notes on the contributors. The contents are organized into four sections: Education and the Human Condition, Education in Traditional Societies, Dilemmas of Modern Education, and Solutions for Education Today. There are 168 pages. Readers can click here to open a new window with more information on the new Studies edition or to purchase it.

The second edition of the new Studies in Comparative Religion, Universal Dimensions of Islam, is also available through World Wisdom. Those interested in seeing more on the issue or purchasing it, can click here to open a new window with more on it. It is edited by Patrick Laude and includes articles by such figures as the Amir ‘Abd al-Qadir, Amadou Hampaté Bâ, Titus Burckhardt, William C. Chittick, Eric Geoffroy, René Guénon, Martin Lings, Frithjof Schuon, and others. The sixteen articles in the volume address the deep universality of Islam, an aspect of its theology and civilization that is often surprising to those unfamiliar with it. The Midwest Book Review wrote, regarding the edition: “Understanding is the key to a more peaceful planet. Universal Dimensions of Islam: Studies in Comparative Religion serves as a fascinating look into Islam as many writers delve into their own studies of faith, and how Islam and its culture can serve as a bridge connecting it to other faiths for a more understanding world.…”

The first of the new series to appear, Crossing Religious Frontiers, is also available on the World Wisdom web site. (Click here for more on this issue.) You can also read the introduction to that issue, by editor Harry Oldmeadow, in a pdf document. For this first of the new issues, Dr. Oldmeadow agreed to edit a volume on one of the central topics of traditionalism and perennialism: the transcendent unity of religions, and what the implications of this are for our study of religions and for our practice of one. The articles explore the topic from many differenct angles, such as religious tolerance, ecumenism, interfaith dialogue, etc. The issue is organized into three sections: Principles, Perspectives, and Encounters. There are even some book reviews at the end (as in the old issues), as well as notes on the contributors. The late perennialist writer and scholar Algis Uždavinys wrote about it: “This is the most reliable, accessible, and profound introduction to the thought of the leading perennialist authors of the twentieth century. This set of remarkable essays is indispensable for every contemporary student of traditional wisdom.”

Online Postings

  • Winter-Spring 1985 Issue: The Winter-Spring 1985 issue is the last issue of the original Studies in Comparative Religion series to appear. This edition includes articles by Frithjof Schuon, Leo Schaya, William Stoddart, Kurt Almqvist, Jean-Louis Michon, Rama P. Coomaraswamy, James Cowan, Clara Inés Perry, Michael Negus, Catherine Perry, Bruno de Jesse, and by "Verax" (a nom de plume). There is also an excerpt from The Golden Fountain, by Lilian Stavely.
  • Summer-Autumn 1984 Issue: featured authors include: René Guénon, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Frithjof Schuon, Guru Gampopa, Martin Lings, Rama P. Coomaraswamy, T.A. Perry, Leo Schaya, and the Rev. Ian Herring.
  • Winter-Spring 1984 Issue: This special issue came out shortly after the death of Titus Burckhardt, and many of the articles celebrate his life and contributions to Traditional studies. Contributors include Titus Burckhardt (excerpts from his writings), Frithjof Schuon, René Guénon, Martin Lings, Whitall N. Perry, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Jean-Louis Michon, and Rama P. Coomaraswamy.
  • Summer-Autumn 1983 Issue - featured authors include: Lord Northbourne, Frithjof Schuon, Lilian Staveley, René Guénon, Jean Hani, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Kurt Almqvist, and Gai Eaton.
  • Winter-Spring 1983 Issue: (Note: The original Studies series was interrupted after the Summer-Autumn 1980 issue, and recommenced with the Winter-Spring 1983 issue.) There are ten articles in the issue, including by Frithjof Schuon (2 articles), Ananda K Coomaraswamy (2 articles), Marco Pallis (2 articles), J Peter Hobson, Lord Northbourne, Douglas Halebi, and Joseph Epes Brown.
  • Summer-Autumn 1980 Issue: This issue features several articles on sacred art and includes authors such as: René Guénon (2 essays), Frithjof Schuon (2 essays), Henry Corbin, Philip Sherrard, Whitall N. Perry, and Luc Benoist. The issue also has translations (with translators' comments) of poems by ‘Umar Ibn al-Farid (translated by Martin Lings) and Ma Fu-ch’u (translated by Peter Hobson).

On New Beginnings

• Since the launch of this website, we have printed “Commemorative Annual Editions” in sequence, starting with 1967. Each of these editions contains a full year's issues of the journal. The issues that are available are listed under “News” in the bar to the left of this. We hope that this will help avid readers fill in their collections and introduce others to the important Traditionalist writings that first appeared in the original Studies issues.

• We occasionally post reviews of current books of interest to Perennialist or Traditionalist readers.

The Old and New Studies in Comparative Religion

2007 marked the start of the 26th year for the journal Studies in Comparative Religion, which is now located in Bloomington, Indiana and sponsored by World Wisdom.

Studies in Comparative Religion was founded in Britain in 1963 by Francis Clive-Ross (1921–1981) and is the first and most comprehensive English-language journal of traditional studies. The journal was published under the name Tomorrow until 1967, when it was changed to its present name. Four quarterly issues per year, containing around 900 articles and book reviews in total, were published during the first 25 years of Studies in Comparative Religion’s existence, before its publication was interrupted in 1987. William Stoddart served as the assistant editor for most of these years.

F. Clive-Ross clearly explained the journal’s goals in his introduction to the first issue:

Studies in Comparative Religion is devoted to the exposition of the teachings, spiritual methods, symbolism, and other facets of the religious traditions of the world, together with the traditional arts and sciences which have sprung from those religions. It is not sectarian and, inasmuch as it is not tied to the interests of any particular religious group, it is free to lay stress on the common spirit underlying the various religious forms.

One of our primary aims is to meet the need for accurate information created by the now world-wide interest in the question of “ecumenical relations” between the great religions, by providing a forum where writers of proven authority can exchange views on various aspects of religious life, doctrinal, historical, artistic and mystical, not forgetting the element of personal experience and reminiscence.

By collecting accurate information about the great religions under their many aspects and rendering them available to interested readers we feel we are fulfilling a very pressing need of our time and also contributing in a practical manner to the cause of inter-religious understanding. If there is to be an effective measure of this understanding at any level this can only be on the basis of accurate presentation both of teachings and facts. An ill-informed benevolence is no substitute for genuine insight, based on information that is neither willfully distorted nor confined to the surface of things.

In this manner we think that we are best serving the interest of our readers in their search for truth.

The overall goals of the journal remain as they were originally stated more than forty years ago by F. Clive-Ross. This second phase includes this online journal archive, the bound commemorative annual editions noted in the lefthand bar, and the new bound editions of the journal, of which several editions have already appeared (as noted at the top of this page).

Free On-line Journal and Comprehensive Archive:

The free on-line journal and comprehensive archive contains the following features:

  • A free on-line archive of all the issues of Studies in Comparative Religion dating back to 1963. All of the approximately 900 articles and book reviews existing articles have been scanned but proofreading is not yet complete for all of the articles. Additional articles will be posted on-line as the proofreading and formatting for the internet is completed.
  • Database search functions by subject or author.
  • The “key word” search engine is powered by Google, thus allowing detailed key word searches throughout this entire historic archive.
  • “Pop-up definitions” are provided by the Dictionary of Spiritual Terms, which allows the reader to click on highlighted foreign or technical words to obtain short pop-up definitions.
(More)

Photo of F. Clive Ross and group outside Pates Manor

During its first 25 years, Studies on Comparative Religion had its offices in a wing of the Clive-Ross home in Pates Manor, Bedfont, near London, which dates its origins to the 15th century. Standing in front Pates Manor are, from left: Francis Clive-Ross, Catherine Schuon, Frithjof Schuon, Martin Lings, Leslie Lings, Whitall Perry, Barbara Perry and Olive Clive-Ross. Photograph c. 1965.

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