The Donner Institute

The Donner Institute for Research into Religion and Culture is a research institute connected to the Åbo Akademi University Foundation.

The Donner Institute was founded in 1959 thanks to a donation from husband-and-wife Uno and Olly Donner to the Åbo Akademi University Foundation. The Donners’ vision was an institute that, on a “strictly scientific basis”, supports and conducts research on religion and culture: primarily on mystery religions and esotericism, but also on contemporary issues and phenomena in religion, philosophy, science, art and literature. The Donner Institute is therefore active in the field of religion in a broad sense.

The Donner Institute’s activities have two focus areas: research and library activities. The institute’s library is the largest in its field in the Nordic countries and is open to the public. Several of the staff are engaged in research, but the institute also supports research in several ways. Recurring forms of activity include symposia, roundtable conferences, publications, research grants, research prizes and the maintenance of international networks in the institute’s research areas.

Contact

You find the institute in the Juridicum-building, Piispankatu 13, Turku.
E-mail: donner.institute@stiftelsenabo.fi
Read more about the Donner Institute here.