Wilfred Cantwell Smith: Scholar, Mentor, and Humanist

Abstract

Wilfred Cantwell Smith (1916–2000) was arguably one of the most influential religious studies scholars of the twentieth century. Dubbed “a scholar’s scholar” by the former Dean of Harvard Divinity School, Smith was affirmed by academic peers repeatedly as he was elected president of each of the six academic societies of which he was a member. Smith’s numerous scholarly publications were innovative and highly influential in his areas of specialization: Islamic studies and the newly emerging field of comparative religion. An historian of religion, Smith was a humanist whose rigorous and creative scholarship established a new framework for explaining the phenomena we associate with religion. This essay provides a lens through which we can appreciate three key elements of Smith’s distinctive contributions: his methodology for the comparative study of religion; his groundbreaking work on “faith,” “belief,” “cumulative traditions,” and “scripture” as vital components for understanding what has been going on religiously throughout human history; and his advocacy for constructive roles scholars can play in pursuit of a more hopeful and healthy future in our increasingly interconnected and far too quarrelsome world.