Marburg - and After?

Abstract

Two years after the Tokyo Congress, the Xth International Congress for the History of Religions has been held in Marburg (September II-I7, I960). The continuity of the two congresses was emphasized not only by the participation of an appreciable number of members from Asian countries, but also by the fact that H. I. H. Prince Mikasa, the Hon. President of the Tokyo Congress, graciously consented to fulfill the same function at Marburg. His presence lent distinction to the Congress, both by the dignity and charm with which he fulfilled his official duties and by his scholarly participation in the work of those sections that were closest to his own fields of study. Marburg provided a most lovely and attractive setting for the Congress. The charm of the town and its surrounding landscape, as well as the august traditions of Marburg and Marburg University (who could not help thinking of the celebrated Religionsgesprdch between Luther and Zwingli, or of the name of Rudolf Otto?) created an atmosphere of pleasant intimacy and scholarly dignity to which all congress-members were sensitive and for which they were genuinely grateful. The Secretary General as well as the local Organizing Committee presided over by Prof. Heiler, had worked hard to prepare the Congress, and Prof. Annemarie Schimmel and her small but devoted staff, labouring indefatigably both before and during the Congress, more than earned the admiration and gratitude of all participants for their unfailing kindness and good temper. The actual work of the Congress (leaving aside the opening ceremony and the one-day excursion to Fulda) was done during five days of sessions, divided into meetings of sections in the mornings and general lectures in the afternoons. There were, practically, ten sections: Primitive Religions (15 papers), Ancient Orient and Judaism (I8 papers), Buddhism and Japanese Religions (I9 papers), Greek and