Frederick (Fred) W. Clothey, Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, passed away on May 18, 2025. Fred was a leader in the creation of the field of ritual studies, a pioneer of ethnographic fieldwork and documentation of religious practice in India, and cofounder and longtime coeditor of the Journal of Ritual Studies (1986-1998). His research interests included the study of myth, symbol and ritual, the role of religion in politics, identity-formation and resurgent nationalisms, and the character of religion in contemporary South Asia and among expatriated South Asians. His fieldwork beyond India extended to Malaysia, Singapore, Czechia, and greater Pittsburgh.
Fred was born and grew up in south India, and he attended Kodaikanal International School (class of 1954). He completed a B.A. and B.Th. at Aurora University, a B.Div. at Naperville Seminar, and an M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. After an early career stint at Boston University, he joined the newly formed Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pittsburgh as only the third faculty member in 1975?. At Pitt he acquired a reputation for teaching large stimulating undergraduate classes, mentoring graduate students and serving on numerous thesis and dissertation committees, and connecting with other departments and area studies programs, especially when he served as department chair. Fred retired from Pitt in 2006. He was the recipient of several awards, such as Distinguished Asianist from the Mid-Atlantic Region Association for Asian Studies, and four Fulbright fellowships. He received four fellowships from AIIS and served as Pitt’s trustee to AIIS.
Among Fred’s numerous publications were these books:
Ritualizing on the Boundaries: Continuity and Innovation in the Tamil Diaspora, 2007
Religion in India: A Historical Introduction, 2007
Quiescence and Passion: The Vision of Arunakiri, Tamil Mystic, 1996
Rhythm and Intent: Ritual Studies from South India, 1983
The Many Faces of Murukan: The History and Meaning of a South Indian God, 1978
He also edited these books:
Experiencing Siva: Encounters with a Hindu Deity (coedited with Bruce J. Long), 1984
Images of Man: Religion and Historical Progress in South Asia, New Era, 1982 [editor]
Fred also produced six documentary films, three of them focused on Serbian and South Indian diasporic religious institutions and communities in greater Pittsburgh.