Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: The History of Religions and Otto’s Perspectives on Religion 1. Otto’s Lifetime as a Christian Theologian 2. Journeys to the East: India as the Foundation of Otto’s Comparative Religion 3. Comparative Religious Perspectives on the Holy 4. Influences of the History-of-Religions School on Otto’s Religious Theory 5. Parallelism of Mysticism in Religions East and West 6. The Concept of the “Wholly Other” and the Experience of the Depth 7. Vedanta Philosophy as the Discourse of Mystic Experience 8. Toward the Semantic Understanding of Religions Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

An important study of the life and work of Rudolf Otto which pays particular attention to his study of Indian religions.

About the Author

Yoshitsugu Sawai is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Tenri University, Japan. He has published books and articles in both Japanese and English on the Vedanta philosophy of the Sankaran religious tradition, the “Oriental Philosophy” of the Japanese philosopher Toshihiko Izutsu, and Tenrikyo theology. His research interests include theories of comparative religion, Indian philosophy, and Tenrikyo theology.

Reviews

Rudolf Otto and the Foundation of the History of Religions brings to the English-reading public a comprehensive understanding of the life, intentions, and scholarly achievements of Rudolf Otto (1869-1937). Yoshitsugu Sawai’s erudite study shows Otto to be not only a well-known scholar of comparative religion with a deep and lasting interest in India’s Hindu traditions, but also a philosopher of religion and a dedicated Lutheran theologian. Generalizations about Otto can now be nuanced and corrected, so that we can better appreciate his contributions and their limits too. This is now the go-to work for understanding Otto.
*Francis X. Clooney, SJ, Parkman Professor of Divinity, Harvard University, USA*

This is a very important, even definitive, work on Otto; the author’s erudition is evident throughout this engaging and well-written book.
*Gavin Flood, Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion, Oxford University, UK*

In this perceptive study, Yoshitsugu Sawai suggests that we reframe Otto’s ideas in terms of the semantic analysis of the Japanese philosopher and scholar of religions, Toshihiko Izutsu. As a bonus, he draws attention to the work of Japanese scholars that are not generally accessible to English speakers.
*Gregory Alles, Professor of Religious Studies, McDaniel College, USA*