Peter Flügel, Dr Phil Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, is Founding Chair of the Centre of Jaina Studies, and Professor of the Study of Religions and Philosophies at the Department of History, Religions and Philosophies at SOAS University of London.
He convenes the Annual Jaina Studies Workshops at SOAS, is editor of the International Journal of Jain Studies, series editor of Routledge Advances in Jaina Studies, and Jaina Studies of Harrassowitz, and principal investigator of the Jaina-Prosopography project.
Research interests
Peter Flügel has published extensively on the history, anthropology and sociology of contemporary Jain schools and sects, Jain relic stūpas, Jaina-Vaiṣṇava syncretism, and on the socio-political and legal history of the Jain tradition. He is also working on questions of comparative philosophy, pluralism and non-violence.
Research Year at University College London (Research Grant, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz 1986-1987)
The ritual System of the Terāpanth Śvetāmbara Jaina (Doctoral Research Grant, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz 1987-1990)
Relic Worship in Jainism (2000 British Academy SRC SG-31522, 2002 Central Research Fund University of London REGS/CRF/2002/2003 (AR/CRF/A), 2002 SOAS IRP 285)
Socio-Demographic Analysis of Contemporary Jaina Monastic Orders (2001 British Academy SCR SG-32893, 2001 SOAS IRP 295)
Jaina Law and the Jaina Community in India and Britain, with Professor Werner Menski of the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences at SOAS as principal applicant (2003-2006 AHRB Research Grant B/RG/AN9085/APN/16406)
Millennium Fellow SOAS, University of London (2000-2002)
Lifelong Honorary Visiting Fellow, Department of Jainology and Comparative Religion & Philosophy, Jain Vishva Bharati Institute, Ladnun (Rajasthan) (from 2001)
Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies, University of Erfurt (2012-2013)
The Royal Asiatic Society, Research Fellow (2020-)
International collaborations
Olle Qvarnström, Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, University of Lund, Jaina Studies Workshop at SOAS (from 2007)
Shahid Rahman, Department of Philosophy, University of Lille 3, Jaina Logic and Argumentation (from 2012)
Eva de Clercq, Ghent University, Jaina Studies, Cooperation in Postgraduate Research & Jaina Studies Workshop at SOAS (from 2013)
Review of Luithle-Hardenberg, Andrea: Die Reise zum Ursprung. Die Pilgerschaft der Shvetambara-Jaina zum Berg Shatrunjaya in Gujarat, Indien. München: Manya Verlag 2011.
Johannes Emil Otto Klatt (1852–1903). Forgotten Chronicler of Jainism and Bibliographer of Oriental Literature: Letters to Albrecht Weber 1874–1882, Ernst Kuhn 1881–1889, Charles Rockwell Lanman 1889 and Ehrhardt Karras 1891, with Curricula Vitae, and a Complete Bibliography of Johannes Klatt’s Works
Flügel, Peter, 2017, Berliner indologische Studien (23), 1, pp 1-76
Review of Vom Ganges zum Himalaya: Indologische Lehr- und Wanderjahre 1930–32. Von Ludwig Alsdorf (ed. Annegret Bollée). Bamberg: Annegret Bollée, Don-Bosco-Str. 2, D-96047 Bamberg, 2005 (privately published)
Flügel, Peter, 2006, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (69), 3, pp 478-479
Review of 'The Universe as Audience. Metaphor and Community among the Jains of North India'. By R.K. Jain. Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 1999.
Review of Theorie und Verfremdung. Max Weber, Louis Dumont und die Analyse der indischen Gesellschaft. By M. Fuchs. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1988
Review of Ritual, History and Power. Selected Papers in Anthropology. By M. Bloch. London School of Economics Monographs on Social Anthropology 58. London: The Athlone Press, 1989
Review of Die Grundlagen Primitiven Denkens. By C. R. Hallpike. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1984 (German Translation of The Foundations of Primitive Thought. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980).
Flügel, Peter, 1986, Psychologie heute (12), 12, pp 80-81
Klaus Bruhn's "Commentary" on the Jaina-Concordance and Chandrabhal B. Tripathi's Notebooks at the British Library
Flügel, Peter (2025). In: Petit, Jérôme, (eds.) and Pinault, Georges-Jean, (eds.), Praśasti: Studies in Indology Presented to Nalini Balbir by Colleagues, Students and Friends. Halle: Universitätsverlag Halle-Wittenberg, pp 207-219
The Jaina Prosopography Database: A New Tool for the Humanities
Flügel, Peter (2023). In: van Lit, L. W. Cornelis, (eds.) and Morris, James Harry, (eds.), Digital Humanities and Religions in Asia: An Introduction. Berlin: De Gruyter, pp 157-175
Flügel, Peter (2023). In: Flügel, Peter, (eds.), De Jonckheere, Heleen, (eds.) and Söhnen-Thieme, Renate, (eds.), Pure Soul: The Jaina Spiritual Traditions. London: Centre of Jaina Studies, SOAS, pp 4-14
Flügel, Peter, Krüger, Patrick and Shah, Priyanka (2023). In: Flügel, Peter, (eds.), De Jonckheere, Heleen, (eds.) and Söhnen-Thieme, Renate, (eds.), Pure Soul: The Jaina Spiritual Traditions. London: Centre of Jaina Studies, SOAS, pp 96-103
Flügel, Peter (2023). In: Flügel, Peter, (eds.), De Jonckheere, Heleen, (eds.) and Söhnen-Thieme, Renate, (eds.), Pure Soul: The Jaina Spiritual Traditions. London: Centre of Jaina Studies, SOAS, pp 172-193
Johannes Klatt, Librarian for Oriental Manuscripts at the Royal Library in Berlin from 1872 to 1892
Flügel, Peter (2022). In: Mangold-Will, Sabine, (eds.), Rauch, Christoph, (eds.) and Schmitt, Siegfried, (eds.), Sammler-Bibliothekare-Forscher: Zur Geschichte der Orientalischen Sammlungen an der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann, pp 151-207
Jaina-Prosopography II: “Patronage” in Jaina Epigraphic and Manuscript Catalogues
Flügel, Peter (2018). In: Chojnacki, Christine, (eds.) and Leclère, Basile, (eds.), Gift of Knowledge: Patterns of Patronage in Jainism. Bangalore: National Institute of Prakrit Research Shravanabelagola, pp 1-46
Flügel, Peter (2018). In: Balbir, Nalini, (eds.) and Flügel, Peter, (eds.), Jaina Studies. Select Papers Presented in the 'Jaina Studies' Section at the 16th World Sanskrit Conference. Delhi:, pp 187-267
Jaina Forest Monk in Meditation: A Rare Jaina Image of Balarāma at Mt. Māṅgī-Tuṅgī
Flügel, Peter (2015). In: Soni, Luitgard, (eds.) and Soni, Jayandra, (eds.), Sanmati: Essays Felicitating Professor Hampa Nagarajaiah on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday. Bengaluru: Satna Book Hourse, pp 185-194
Historical Sources on the Loṅkāgaccha- and Sthānakavāsī-Traditions in Johannes Klatt’s Jaina-Onomasticon
Flügel, Peter (2014). In: Kimura, Toshihiko, (ed.), Indian and Buddhist Studies in Honor of President Dr. Shouou (Kiyoaki) Okuda in Recognition of his Lifelong Scholarship. Osaka: Kosei Publishers, pp 314-333
Flügel, Peter (2012). In: Anheier, Helmut K, (eds.) and Juergensmeyer, Mark, (eds.), Encyclopedia of Global Studies. Vol. 3. Thousand Oakes: Sage, pp 975-979
Worshipping the Ideal King: On the Social Implications of Medieval Jaina Conversion Stories
Flügel, Peter (2010). In: Schalk, Peter, (eds.), Deeg, Max, (eds.), Freiberger, Oliver, (eds.), Kleine, Christoph, (eds.) and van Nahl, Astrid, (eds.), Geschichten und Geschichte: Historiographie und Hagiographie in der asiatischen Religionsgeschichte. Upsala: Uppsala, pp 357-432
Flügel, Peter (2009). In: Katz, Stanley N., (ed.), The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History. New York: Oxford University Press, pp 363-365
Flügel, Peter (2006). In: Flügel, Peter, (ed.), Studies in Jaina History and Culture: Disputes and Dialogues. London and New York: Routledge, pp 312-398
Present Lord: Simandhara Svami and the Akram Vijnan Movement
Flügel, Peter (2005). In: King, Anna S., (eds.) and Brockington, John, (eds.), The Intimate Other: Love Divine in the Indic Religions. New Delhi: Orient Longman, pp 194-243
Spiritual Accounting: The Role of the Kalyāṇaka Patra in the Religious Economy of the Terāpanth Śvetāmbara Jain Ascetics
Flügel, Peter (2003). In: Qvarnström, Olle, (ed.), Jainism and Early Buddhism in the Indian Cultural Context: Festschrift in Honour of P.S. Jaini. Fremont, Cal.: Asian Humanities Press, pp 167-204
Flügel, Peter (2002). In: Melton, J. G., (eds.) and Baumann, Martin, (eds.), Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, pp 1266-1267
Flügel, Peter (2002). In: Melton, J. G., (eds.) and Baumann, Martin, (eds.), Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, pp 1221-1223
