John S. Strong

Who is John S. Strong?

John S. Strong is an American academic, who is the Charles A. Dana Professor at Bates College in the Department of Religious Studies. Strong specializes in Buddhist studies and with emphasis on the Buddha's biography, relics, and the legends and cults of South Asia.

John Strong was born in China, and completed his secondary education in Switzerland. He graduated from the Oberlin College, where he joined the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He then obtained a master's degree at the Hartford Seminary Foundation.

Strong received his Ph.D. in History of Religions from the University of Chicago in 1977, and joined Bates in 1978. He received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1982, as an Assistant Professor of Religion. He was promoted to a full professor in 1986.