CLIFFORD G. HOSPITAL is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Religion at Queen's Theological College and the Department of Religious Studies, Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, where he taught for thirty years, from 1971 to 2001--and where he served as Principal of the Theological College (1983-1992), and Head of the Department of Religious Studies (1983-1990). He has taught courses at USC since 2001.

Hospital grew up in Queensland, Australia, and holds degrees in Arts and Divinity from the University of Queensland. After serving for three years as Associate Minister at West End Methodist Mission in Brisbane, Australia, in 1967 he came to the U.S. and did a Ph.D. in Comparative Religion at Harvard University, which he completed in 1973.

He has written two books, The Righteous Demon: A Study of Bali (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1984) and Breakthrough: Insights of the Great Religious Discoverers (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1985), and has published numerous articles and reviews. His major areas of scholarly interest are: Hindu mythology, particularly that of the Puranas: religion in the south Indian state of Kerala; and theological approaches to religious diversity.

Over the years he has taught courses in the following areas of religious studies and theology:

Introduction to World Religions
Introduction to Religious Studies
Religions of South Asia
Hinduism
Modern Hindu Movements
Introduction to Buddhism
Buddhism, Myths and Symbols
The Mythology of Heroes and Saints
Sacred Space
The Interpretation of Sacred Texts
The Interpretation of Religion
The Contemporary Religious Situation
Problems in Comparative Religion
Theological Approaches to Religious Diversity
The Christian Doctrine of God,
Introduction to Worship
Experimental Forms of Worship.

Hospital has also served as Director of Music at several churches in the U.S. and Canada, and is at present the organist at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia. His spouse is Janette Turner Hospital, novelist and short story writer, who holds a position as Carolina Distinguished Professor of English at USC.