Tor Julius Efraim Andræ (; 9 July 1885 – 24 February 1947) was a Swedish clergyman, professor and scholar of

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including human migration, migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study ...

who served as Bishop of the

Diocese of Linköping The Diocese of Linköping () is a diocese within the Church of Sweden administering the Östergötland County, the north eastern part of Jönköping County and the northern part of Kalmar County. It comprises nine deaneries subdivided into 176 ...

Biography

Andræ was born at Vena parish in

Hultsfred Municipality Hultsfred Municipality () is a municipality in Kalmar County, in south-eastern Sweden. The seat is in the town of Hultsfred. The present municipality was created in 1971 through the amalgamation of the market town ('' köping'') of Hultsfred (i ...

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg County, Kronoberg, Jönköping County, Jönköping, Blekinge County, Blekinge and Östergötland County, Östergötland. To the ...

, Sweden. He came from a clerical family. He was the son of pastor Anders Johan Andræ and Ida Nilsson. He studied theology at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1917. As a historian of religion, his particular interest lay in the early history of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, particularly its Jewish and Christian origins, and in the

psychology of religion Psychology of religion consists of the application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to the diverse contents of religious traditions as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals. The various methods and frameworks ...

, but he also combined these interests in the study of early

Islamic mysticism Sufism ( or ) is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from , ), and ...

. He became church pastor at

Gamla Uppsala Gamla Uppsala (, ''Old Uppsala'') is a parish and a village outside Uppsala in Sweden. It had 17,973 inhabitants in 2016. As early as the 3rd century AD and the 4th century AD and onwards, it was an important religious, economic and political c ...

in 1924. Between 1927 and 1929, he served as professor of religious history at

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

and then became professor of theological encyclopedia at Uppsala University. Andræ was a student of

Nathan Söderblom Lars Olof Jonathan Söderblom (; 15 January 1866 – 12 July 1931) was a Swedish bishop. He was the Church of Sweden Archbishop of Uppsala from 1914 to 1931, and recipient of the 1930 Nobel Peace Prize. He is commemorated in the Calendar of ...

, whom he succeeded as member of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

in 1932. He was appointed Bishop of the

in 1936 and was the same year briefly

minister of education and ecclesiastical affairs The Minister of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs () was a member of the government of Sweden. The minister of education and ecclesiastical affairs was the head of the Ministry of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs from 1840 to 1967 which han ...

in the short-lived cabinet of Prime Minister Axel Pehrsson-Bramstorp. He died during 1947 in

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

and was buried at Uppsala gamla kyrkogård. ;His study of Muhammad In 1985, Annemarie Schimmel remarked that until then only one study had "tried specifically to depict Muhammad's role in Islamic piety. Even today Tor Andrae's ''Die person Muhammeds in lehre und glaube seiner Gemeinde'' (1918) remains the standard work in this area, unsuperseded by any other major study, though complemented by random remarks in numerous modern work on Sufism. It is, however, unfortunately too little known even among Islamicists."Tor Andrae, ''Mohammed. The man and his faith'' (New York: Charles Scribner and Sons 1936; reprint: Barnes and Noble, New York 1955), translated by Theophil Menzel from a 1932 German edition.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrae, Tor 1885 births 1947 deaths People from Hultsfred Municipality Lutheran bishops of Linköping Swedish historians of religion Swedish orientalists Members of the Swedish Academy Uppsala University alumni 20th-century Swedish historians Burials at Uppsala old cemetery Ministers of education and ecclesiastical affairs of Sweden Independent politicians in Sweden 20th-century Swedish Lutheran bishops