Paul Younger, Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at McMaster University, passed away in Ottawa on January 5, 2025.
Growing up in the coal mining region of eastern Pennsylvania, early in life Paul identified with those from “the other side of the tracks.” Such childhood experiences proved formative for the rest of his life, and it is no accident that Paul’s Ph.D. thesis was about the Buddhist/Hindu concept of dukkha, or suffering. All his life, he was open to the suffering of others in the communities where he lived and around the globe. Paul always believed that true change required action, and each person is responsible to stand up for others and to build a more just world.
While attending Princeton Seminary, he volunteered at a church in an African-American part of Trenton. An activist in the civil rights movement involved Paul in the local community and non-violent cooperation to bring about change, and she suggested he learn about Gandhi and go to India. He then went to Varanasi to study at Banaras Hindu University where, encouraged by followers of Gandhi, he lived in the Dalit village of Chittapur. As part of that community, he took a lead role in a construction project, an experience that became another touchstone for his life.
In 1964, Paul moved to Canada to take a position in the Department of Religious Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. As a professor for forty years, Paul taught South Asian religion and political thought. His book publications included:
New Hhomelands : Hindu communities in Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, South Africa, Fiji and East Africa (2009)
Playing host to deity: festival religion in the South Indian tradition (2002)
The home of dancing Śivan: the traditions of the Hindu temple in Citamparam (1995).
He also wrote and two textbooks:
Hinduism (with Susanna Oommen, 1978)
https://virginiatech.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991002459869708646&context=L&vid=01VT_INST:01VT_INST&lang=en&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&adaptor=Local Search Engine&tab=Everything&query=creator,contains,Younger Paul&offset=0Introduction to Indian Religious Thought (1972)
Paul also served as Dean of Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, among other administrative roles.
Throughout his life and work, Paul strove to understand the practical truths of dharma, the Hindu ideal of justice and relationships. This guided him in communities where he lived and to the many Hindu communities around the world that he studied.