Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change: 2026 Release ISE

Michael Molloy has made the study of religion his life's work. Fascination with religion began with interest in the architecture of temples, mosques, churches, and shrines. Experiencing ceremonies at those places led to a love of religious music and art. In his early graduate work, he focused on the imagery of clouds and darkness in mystical literature. In his doctoral work, he examined the mystical thought of Aldous Huxley, after Huxley had been influenced by Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism. To do this, he interviewed Huxley's wife Laura, Huxley's sister-in-law, and friends of Huxley. Molloy received a grant from the East-West Center in Hawai`i to study there, and he received his doctorate from the University of Hawai`i. During this time, he studied in Japan with Abe Masao in Kyoto and with Sobharani Basu at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi. He practiced Zen meditation at Bushinji in Shikoku and later received a certificate from the Oomoto School of Traditional Japanese Arts in Kameoka, Japan. He has written Experiencing the World's Religions (McGraw-Hill) and The Christian Experience (Bloomsbury). Currently he is writing a memoir of his grandparents and parents and their religious background.Molloy has taught many philosophy and religion courses, including World Religions, Asian Philosophies, Western Mysticism, Greek and Roman Philosophy, Ethics, Nietzsche, Religion and the Meaning of Existence, and Indian Philosophy. He is a Professor Emeritus of the University of Hawai`i. To complement his academic work, he has had three exhibitions of his paintings-"Landscapes of the Mind," "Luminous Darkness," and "Renaissance." He co-directed two radio series ofi nterviews with musicians, writers, and artists on KAIM-FM and Hawai`i Public Radio. He worked on the Inari Shrine Preservation Committee to move the shrine to a new location and then to renovate it.