Michael Molloyhas made the study of religion his life's work. Fascination with religion beganwith interest in the architecture of temples, mosques, churches, and shrines.Experience of ceremonies at those places led to love of religious music andart. In his early graduate work, he focused on the imagery of cloud anddarkness in mystical literature. In his doctoral work, he examined the mysticalthought of Aldous Huxley, after Huxley had been influenced by Hinduism andMahayana Buddhism. To do this, he interviewed Huxley's wife Laura, Huxley'ssister-in-law, and friends of Huxley. Molloy received a grant from the East-West Center in Hawai`ito study there, and he received his doctorate from the University of Hawai`i.During this time, he studied in Japan with Abe Masao in Kyoto and withSobharani Basu at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi. He practiced Zenmeditation at Bushinji in Shikoku and later received a certificate from theOomoto School of Traditional Japanese Arts in Kameoka, Japan. He has written Experiencingthe World's Religions (McGraw-Hill) and The Christian Experience(Bloomsbury). Currently he is writing a memoir of his grandparents and parentsand their religious background. Molloy has taught many philosophy & religion courses,including World Religions, Asian Philosophies, Western Mysticism, Greek andRoman Philosophy, Ethics, Nietzsche, Religion and the Meaning of Existence, andIndian Philosophy. He is a Professor Emeritus of the University of Hawai`i. To complement his academic work, he has had threeexhibitions of his paintingsLandscapes of the Mind, LuminousDarkness, and Renaissance. He co-directed two radio series ofinterviews with musicians, writers, and artists on KAIM-FM and Hawai`i PublicRadio. He worked on the Inari Shrine Preservation Committee to move the shrineto a new location and then to renovate it.
