![BirgitMeyer2015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/BirgitMeyer2015.jpg)
Birgit Meyer (born 21 March 1960) is a German professor of religious studies at
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
.
Career
Meyer was born on 21 March 1960 in
Emden
Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528.
History
The exact founding date of E ...
, Germany.
She studied comparative religion, pedagogy, and cultural anthropology at the
University of Bremen
The University of Bremen (German: ''Universität Bremen'') is a public university in Bremen, Germany, with approximately 23,500 people from 115 countries. It is one of 11 institutions which were successful in the category "Institutional Strategi ...
and the
University of Amsterdam
The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...
. She earned her
PhD at the latter university in 1995 under doctoral advisors J. Fabian and
H.U.E. Thoden van Velzen, with a thesis titled: ''Translating the Devil. An African Appropriation of Pietist Protestantism. The Case of the Peki Ewe, 1847–1992''. She was appointed as professor of religious studies at
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
in 2011. She previously spent over 20 years living in Ghana studying
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement and religious change.
[
Meyer has been a member of the ]Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...
since 2007. In April 2015 Meyer won the Academy Professors Prize of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and received a 1 million euro grant.
In 2015 she was one of four winners of the Dutch Spinoza Prize
The Spinoza Prize ( nl, Spinozapremie) is an annual award of 2.5 million euro, to be spent on new research given by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The award is the highest scientific award in the Netherlands. It is named after the philosopher ...
and received a 2.5 million euro grant.
References
External links
Profile at Utrecht University
Research Website ''Religious Mattes''
1960 births
Living people
Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
People from Emden
Religious studies scholars
Spinoza Prize winners
University of Amsterdam alumni
University of Bremen alumni
Utrecht University faculty
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