Leeming, David

David Leeming is a distinguished scholar of mythology and comparative literature who has made significant contributions to understanding religious narratives and their cultural meanings. Educated at Princeton University and Columbia University, he served as Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Connecticut. His extensive work on world mythology examines how diverse cultures construct narratives about divine beings, creation, and ultimate reality. In "Myth: A Biography of Belief" (2002), Leeming traces the evolution of mythological thinking from ancient times to the present, analyzing how myths function as vehicles for understanding the divine and humanity's relationship to transcendent reality. His comparative approach illuminates common patterns in how different traditions conceptualize deity, sacred time, and cosmic order. Leeming's scholarship demonstrates how mythological narratives serve as primary texts for understanding humanity's ongoing engagement with questions of divine existence, meaning, and purpose across cultures.