Name Douglas Davies Role Professor | Education Durham University | |
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Awards Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year Books A brief history of death, Death - Ritual and Belief, Reusing Old Graves, The Mormon Culture of, An introduction to Mormo | ||
Professor douglas davies discusses death rituals
Douglas James Davies, FBA (born 1947) is Professor in the Study of Religion in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Durham. He is an authority in the history, theology and sociology of death. His fields of expertise also include anthropology, the study of religion, the rituals and beliefs surrounding funerary rites and cremation around the globe, and Mormonism. His research interests cover identity and belief, and Anglican leadership.
Contents
- Professor douglas davies discusses death rituals
- Dr douglas davies interview the refuge
- Early life and education
- Academic career
- Honours
- Selected works
- References
Dr douglas davies interview the refuge
Early life and education
Born in Wales, he read two Bachelor of Arts degrees at St John's College, University of Durham, before doing his PhD at the University of Nottingham. He then achieved both Master and Doctor of Letters at Oxford University and received, on May 28, 1998, an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Theology at Uppsala University, Sweden.
Academic career
His book, Reusing Old Graves: A Report on Popular British Attitudes, co-written with Alastair Shaw, won the 1995 Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year.
His current projects include writings on 'The Encyclopedia of Cremation', 'The Clergy and British Society: 1940-2000', 'A Brief History of Death', 'Inner-speech and prayer' and 'Ritual purity'.
He has also published a large number of articles on death, and contemporary Christianity.
Davies has been involved with various editorial boards and conferences, including the 'Editorial Board of Mortality' and the 'British Sociological; Association Religion Group' (Chairman: 2000-2003). He was also guest speaker at both the Scandinavian Sociological Society Conference in 2004 and the International Cremation Federation Conference in Barcelona, 2003.
Within the University of Durham he teaches three undergraduate modules: 'Study of Religion', 'Death, Ritual and Belief' and 'Theology and Anthropology'. He also teaches 'Ritual, Symbolism and Belief' to those studying a taught master's degree in Theology.
He is a member of the Senior Common Room of St Chad's College Durham.
Honours
In July 2017, Davies was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.
Selected works
His list of books include: