HONKO, LAURI (1932–2002) was a Finnish scholar of comparative religion and folklore and one of the most prominent scholars of cultural and religious studies in late-twentieth-century Finland and abroad. His prolific literary output reflects his status as professor of folklore and comparative religion at the University of Turku as well as stints with the Academy of Finland, UNESCO, Folklore Fellows Communications (FFC), and other national and international learned societies.

Honko began his career in the 1950s at the Finnish Literature Society as a student and assistant of Martti Haavio. Honko's doctoral dissertation discussed folk medicine and phenomenology of religion. His 1962 publication Geisterglaube in Ingermanland was a breakthrough that extended research on supernatural experiences into the perception and social psychology of religion on the basis of the folk beliefs he had thoroughly studied in peasant Ingrian society, using archival and field materials gathered from Ingrian refugees in Finland...