Rudolf Otto

Rudolf Otto
Born	(1869-09-25)25 September 1869 Peine, North German Confederation
Died	6 March 1937(1937-03-06) (aged 67) Marburg, Germany
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Erlangen University of Göttingen
Influences	Friedrich Schleiermacher, Immanuel Kant, Jakob Fries
Academic work
Discipline	Theology and comparative religion
School or tradition	History of religions school
Notable works	The Idea of the Holy
Notable ideas	The numinous
Influenced	Eliade, Jung, Campbell, C. S. Lewis, Tillich, Barth, Rahner, Heidegger, Wach, Horkheimer, Gadamer, Strauss

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Rudolf Otto (25 September 1869 – 7 March 1937) was an eminent German Lutheran theologian, philosopher, and comparative religionist. He is regarded as one of the most influential scholars of religion in the early twentieth century and is best known for his concept of the numinous, a profound emotional experience he argued was at the heart of the world's religions.^[1] While his work started in the domain of liberal Christian theology, its main thrust was always apologetical, seeking to defend religion against naturalist critiques.^[2] Otto eventually came to conceive of his work as part of a science of religion, which was divided into the philosophy of religion, the history of religion, and the psychology of religion.^[2]