Editorial note

Editorial note based on papers presented at the symposium “Encounters between Religions in Old Nordic Times and Cultic Place-Names” in Åbo (Turku), Finland on August 19-21, 1987

Editorial note

Editorial note of Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis, vol. 17, No 1, based on papers read at IAHR Regional Symposium in Turku/Åbo on the 4th to7th of August 1997, Finland arranged by the Donner Institute and the Finnish Society for the Study of Comparative Religion

Editorial note

Editorial note of the Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis, vol. 20, based on papers read at the symposium 'Western Esotericism', held at Åbo, Finland, on 15-17 August 2007

Editorial note

Editorial note of Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis, vol. 23, Religion and the Body, based on papers read at the symposium on Religion and the Body held at Åbo/Turku, Finland, on 16-18 June 2010

Rudolf Steiner as a religious authority

The aim of this article is to clarify what Rudolf Steiner’s followers thought of him at the time of his demise. How can we explain the rapid spread of the Anthroposophical Society in Europe and the United States during the inter-war period? Can it be explained by referring to Rudolf Steiner’s own authority? What kind of authority did he possess? Did the members of the Anthroposophical Society regard him as a divine being, a prophet, or an ordinary religious teacher? The material for this article consists of a selection of the obitu­aries published in the anthroposophical press after Rudolf Steiner’s death on 30 March 1925. Needless to say, obituaries are usually tendentious, and therefore controversial as source material. For the purpose of the present article, however, this kind of material is suitable, since the aim here is to study the tendency itself. The restraint that followers might be assumed to practice in publishing their opinion on Steiner in commonly available writings is minimised in the type of material chosen here. The primary interest is to find out whether his followers portray Steiner as a human being, or as a divine, or semi-divine being.

Editorial

Editorial note of Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis vol. 25, Digital Religion, based on papers read at the conference arranged by the Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History, Åbo Akademi University, Åbo/Turku, Finland, on 13–15 June 2012

Editorial note

Editorial note of Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis, vol. 12, Saami Religion, based on papers read at the symposium on Saami Religion held at Åbo/Turku, Finland, on 16-18 August 1984

The Mercator-Hondius Atlas at the Donner Institute

This introduction describes the background and reasons why the Mercator-Hondius atlas analysed in this issue became part of the library collection of the Donner Institute

Editorial note

Editorial note of the Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis, vol. 20, based on papers read at the symposium 'Western Esotericism', held at Åbo, Finland, on 15-17 August 2007

Editorial note

Editorial of the Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis, vol. 22, Pilgrimages Toda