Kocku von Stuckrad

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Kocku von Stuckrad (born 6 April 1966) is a German scholar of religious studies. He focuses on European religious history and the study of Western esotericism. He was born in Kpando, Ghana. He is a professor of religious studies at the University of Groningen. His research looks at how religion, nature, and science connect, and at different methods for studying religion. In Western esotericism, he emphasizes claims of higher knowledge and secrecy as key features, rather than specific esoteric movements. He argues the field should be critically examined from historical, sociological, and cultural perspectives, and he advocates a discourse-analytic approach to its history. He has edited volumes such as The Brill Dictionary of Religion (2006) and co-edited the Journal of Religion in Europe, as well as several series published by Brill and De Gruyter.