The Religious Experience Research Centre was founded by the distinguished marine biologist Professor Alister Hardy FRS in 1969 as The Religious Experience Research Unit. He and his co-researchers began to gather a unique archive of accounts of religious experience and to publish research into the area. The maintenance of both the archives and the research and publications have continued. The Centre organises conferences and produces both books and a series of Occasional Papers on religious experience and spirituality. Alister Hardy (1896 - 1985) was an Oxford-educated marine biologist, expert on zooplankton and marine ecosystems. ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

Sir Alister was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress In Religion in 1985 and the Centre has since received a grant from the Templeton Foundation for the computerisation of the archives. The Centre was located at Manchester College, Oxford from 1969-1989 and from 1989–1999 at Westminster College, Oxford. In 1999 the Centre moved to the University of Wales, Lampeter. The Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities (795,000 Pounds Sterling in 2003) was until 2001 . ... 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Harris Manchester College, formerly Manchester College, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom; it has the emphasis on students who are more advanced in age. ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Westminster College, Oxford Until 2000, Theology and Education degrees at this college were validated by the University of Oxford. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... St Davids College in Lampeter was founded in 1822 by Thomas Burgess, Bishop of St Davids in the small town of Lampeter. ...

The directors of the Centre are currently Professors Paul Badham and Xinzhong Yao and Dr Wendy Dossett. Professor Paul Badham is Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Wales, Lampeter He is a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge universities, and received his PhD from the University of Birmingham. ...