Bruce Lincoln (born 1948) is Caroline E. Haskell Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of the History of Religions in the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, where he also holds positions in the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Committee on the Ancient Mediterranean World, Committee on the History of Culture, and in the departments of Anthropology and Classics (Associate Member). Before his arrival at the University of Chicago, Lincoln taught at the University of Minnesota (1976–1994), where he co-founded the Program in Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society. For many years his primary scholarly concern was the study of Indo-European religion, where his work came to criticize the ideological presuppositions of research on purported Indo-European origins. Since the late 1990s, his work has dealt extensively with methodological problems, and issues concerning religion, power and politics.

Education

Lincoln graduated from Haverford College in 1970 with a B.A. in Religion, and then took his Ph.D. in the History of Religions from The University of Chicago in 1976, where he wrote his dissertation, "Priests, Warriors, and Cattle: A Comparative Study of East African and Indo-Iranian Religious Systems" under Mircea Eliade. During this time, he also studied under J.A.B. van Buitenen, Carsten Colpe, and Charles Long.

Awards

Books