Arvind Sharma (13 January 1940 – 29 September 2026) was the Birks Professor of Comparative Religion at McGill University from 1994 until 2026. Sharma's works focus on Hinduism, philosophy of religion. In editing books his works include Our Religions and Women in World Religions, Feminism in World Religions was selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Book (1999).
Arvind Sharma was awarded Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2025.
Biography
Arvind Sharma was born on 13 January 1940 in Varanasi, India. He received his B.A. from Allahabad University in 1958. He served in civil services in Gujarat until 1968 he went to US to pursue higher studies in economics at the Syracuse University, obtaining a Masters in economics in 1970. While pursuing the role of non-economic factors in economic development he became interested in religion and joined Harvard Divinity School in 1972. After obtaining a Masters in Theological Studies, he earned his PhD from the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies in 1978.
While at Harvard he was recruited in 1976 by the newly founded Department of Studies in Religion at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. In 1980 he moved to the University of Sydney. In 1994 he was appointed the Birks Professor of Comparative Religion at McGill University, where he taught until the semester before his passing.
The archives of Arvind Sharma are held at McGill University (MUA).
