Mario Ignacio Aguilar (born 10 March 1959) is the Chair of

Religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

and

Politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

at the School of Divinity ( St. Mary's College) of the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Biography

He completed his PhD in Anthropology at the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. Since joining the University of St Andrews in 1994 he has held various positions including, Dean of Divinity (2002-2005). Aguilar is also the current director and a founding director of the Centre for the Study of Religion and Politics (known as the CSRP) based within St Mary's, and the centre only accept
PhD researchers
He is also the coordinator of the Scholars at the Peripheries Research Group. Aguilar's research includes what is considered to be the largest study of its kind, a ten-year research project (2007-2017) on religion and politics in Tibet. The project reflects on the challenges that will be faced by the 15th

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

and how "Tibetans are going to manage religion and politics as two geographically separated entities within a Tibetan Buddhist practice that incorporates past histories and a Tibetan region that remains part of contemporary China." In addition in July 2012

De Gruyter Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. History The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...

announced the engagement of Aguilar as the general editor of a three volume ''Handbook on Liberation Theology''.

Other Appointments and Responsibilities

* Representative of the Royal Africa Society, Scotland, to the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. * Chair of

Ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

Studies of the

American Academy of Religion The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholarly method, scholars in the List of academic disciplines, field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a profes ...

. * Member of the

International African Institute The International African Institute (IAI) was founded (as the International Institute of African Languages and Cultures - IIALC) in 1926 in London for the study of African languages. Frederick Lugard was the first chairman (1926 to his death in 194 ...

. * Fellow of the

Royal Anthropological Institute The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...

. * Fellow of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

* Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

Selected publications

* ''Women’s Organizing Abilities: Two Case Studies in Kenya and Malawi'', with Laurel Birch de Aguilar. Washington, DC: ODII, 1993. * ''Ministry to Social and Religious Outcasts in Africa''. Eldoret, Kenya: AMECEA Gaba Publications, 1995. * ''Dios en Africa: Elementos para una Antropología de la Religión''. Estella, Navarra (Spain): Editorial Verbo Divino, 1997. * ''Being Oromo in Kenya''. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1998. * ''The Rwanda Genocide and the Call to Deepen Christianity in Africa''. Eldoret, Kenya: AMECEA Gaba Publications, 1998. * ''The Politics of Age and Gerontocracy in Africa: Ethnographies of the Past and Memories of the Present'', ed. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1998. * ''Recent Advances and Issues in Anthropology''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000. * ''Current Issues on Theology and Religion in Latin America and Africa''. Lewiston, NY; Lampeter, UK:

Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press or Mellen Press is an international Independent business, independent company and Academic publisher, academic publishing house with editorial offices in Lewiston (town), New York, Lewiston, New York, and Lampeter, Lampete ...

, 2002. * ''A Social History of the Catholic Church in Chile'', 9 Vols. Lewiston, NY; Lampeter, UK:

, 2004–. Winner of the

Adèle Mellen Prize The Edwin Mellen Press or Mellen Press is an international independent company and academic publishing house with editorial offices in Lewiston, New York, and Lampeter, Wales. It was founded, in 1972, by the religious studies scholar Professo ...

(2004). * ''Cardenal Raúl Silva Henríquez: presencia en la vida de Chile (1907-1999)''. Santiago: Copygraph, 2004. * ''Anthropology and Biblical Studies: Avenues of Approach'', edited with L.J. Lawrence. Leiden: Deo Publishing, 2004. * ''Rethinking Age in Africa: Colonial, Postcolonial and Contemporary Interpretations of Cultural Representations'', ed. Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 2007. * ''The History and Politics of Latin American Theology'', 3 Vols. London: SCM Press, 2007-2008. * ''Contemplating God, Changing the World''. London: SPCK, 2008. * ''A las puertas de la Villa Grimaldi: Poemas''. Santiago: Caliope Editores, 2008. * ''Theology, Liberation, Genocide: A Theology of the Periphery''. London: SCM Press, 2009. * ''The Politics of God in East Africa: Oromo Ritual and Religion''. Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 2009. * ''Retorno a la Villa Grimaldi''. Santiago: Caliope Ediciones, 2009. * ''Pausas: Poemas de Villa Grimaldi an India''. Santiago: Mago Ediciones, 2009. * ''Manifiesto del Bicentenario: Poemas''. Santiago: Caliope Ediciones y Kawell Kelun Editores, 2009. * ''Thomas Merton: Contemplation and Political Action''. London: SPCK, 2011. * ''A History of the Lamas in Tibet 1391-2006''. Lewinston, NY; Lampeter, UK:

, 2012. * ''Church, Liberation and World Religions''. London: T&T Clark, 2012. * ''The Way of the Hermit: Interfaith Encounters in Silence and Prayer''. London; Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguilar, Mario Academics of the University of St Andrews Academics of SOAS University of London Academics of the University of London Historians of Latin America Chilean male poets Chilean academics 21st-century Chilean poets 21st-century Chilean male writers Living people 1959 births Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society Fellows of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland