A Model of Worldwide: Chicago Divinity School

Year 2021, Volume: 1 Issue: 1, 65 - 83, 15.12.2021

Duygu Mete Doğan

Abstract

Founded in 1890 with the support of the American Baptist Theological Association,
Chicago Divinity, is an institution that has been influential around the world, both with the
people it has trained and the contributions they have made to academia. Joachim Wach, who
founded the “Chicago School” and the Comparative Study of Religion, which was a
dominant force in the field of History of Religions for many years, is one of the leading
names of this institution. His successor, Mircea Eliade, who founded the first academic
journal devoted to the comparative history of religion, is a scientist who has made a name
for himself in the field of the History of Religions with his productivity in the academic
field. In addition to Wach and Eliade, another person who is known for his critical identity
and who for many years made the Chicago Divinity School a pioneer in the field of
Religious Studies is Jonathan Z. Smith.
In this context the aim of this article is to shed light on the general character of the
Chicago Divinity Faculty and its contribution to science, which hosts leading scientists in
the field of Religious Studies and continues to maintain its effectiveness in the academic
field with its well-established publications.

Keywords

Chicago, Divinity, Joachim Wach, Mircea Eliade, Jonathan Z. Smith

Dünya Çapında Bir Ekol: Chıcago İlahiyat Fakültesi

Abstract

Amerikan Baptist İlahiyat Birliği’nin desteğiyle 1890 yılında kurulan Chicago İlahiyat
hem yetiştirdiği kişiler hem de onların akademi hayata sundukları katkılarla dünya çapında
etkili olmuş bir kurumdur. Uzun yıllar Dinler Tarihi alanında hâkim bir güç olan “Chicago
Okulu” nu ve Karşılaştırmalı Din Bilimini kuran Joachim Wach, bu kurumun önde gelen
isimlerindendir. Onun halefi olan ve karşılaştırmalı din tarihine ayrılan ilk akademik dergiyi
kuran Mircea Eliade, akademik alandaki üretkenliğiyle Dinler Tarihi alanında adından çokça
söz ettirmiş bir bilim adamıdır. Wach ve Eliade’ye ilave olarak eleştirel kimliğiyle tanınan
ve uzun yıllar Chicago İlahiyat Fakültesini Din Bilimleri alanının öncüsü yapan bir diğer
isim ise Jonathan Z. Smith’tir.
Bu bağlamda çalışmanın amacı, Din Bilimleri alanında önde gelen bilim adamlarına
ev sahipliği yapan ve köklü yayın organlarıyla akademik alandaki etkinliğini sürdürmeye
devam eden Chicago İlahiyat Fakültesinin genel karakterine ve bilime katkısına ışık
tutmaktır.

Keywords

Chicago, İlahiyat, Joachim Wach, Mircea Eliade, Jonathan Z. Smith

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