David Chidester
David Chidester | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Shane Chidester October 31, 1952 |
| Occupations | Scholar of religion; academic |
| Years active | Late 20th–early 21st century |
| Title | Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies, University of Cape Town |
| Awards |
|
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Thesis | Word and Light: Perception and Symbolic Forms in the Augustinian Tradition (1981) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Religious studies |
| Sub-discipline | Comparative religion; religion in South Africa; religion and popular culture |
| Institutions | University of Cape Town |
| Main interests | Comparative religion; colonialism and religion; African indigenous religion |
| Notable works |
|
David Chidester (born 31 October 1952) is an American-born South African scholar of religion and emeritus professor of religious studies at the University of Cape Town (UCT). He is known for his work on comparative religion, African indigenous religions, American popular culture, and the history and theory of religious studies, often from postcolonial and materialist perspectives. He has authored or edited more than twenty books, including Salvation and Suicide, Patterns of Transcendence, Religions of South Africa, Savage Systems, Authentic Fakes, Wild Religion, Empire of Religion, and Religion: Material Dynamics.
Chidester has twice received the American Academy of Religion's Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion, has been rated an "A"-rated researcher by South Africa's National Research Foundation, and has won UCT's Alan J. Pifer Award for social research and the UCT Book Award on more than one occasion.