BLEEKER, C. JOUCO (1898–1983), Dutch historian of Egyptian religion and leading figure in the field of phenomenology of religion. Claas Jouco Bleeker was born in Beneden Knijpe, the Netherlands, and attended school in Leeuwarden. He went on to study theology at the University of Leiden. There he specialized in Egyptology and the history of religions, chiefly under the tutelage of W. Brede Kristensen, whose work influenced him greatly. He continued his studies at the University of Berlin, and in 1929 he received his Th.D. from the University of Leiden for his thesis De beteekenis van de Egyptische godin Ma-a-t (The Significance of the Egyptian Goddess Maat). In 1925 Bleeker began a career as a minister in the Dutch Reformed church, serving first in the town of Apeldoorn. He held pulpits in various Dutch cities until 1946 when he was appointed professor of the history of religions and...