Before joining the University of Queensland in 1982, he studied for his PhD in the philosophy of religion at the University of Adelaide. He served as the Head of the Department of Studies in Religion from 1986-93 and from 1996-2000, and was Foundation Head of the School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics from 2001-2005. He became a member of the centre in 2006.
His recent books include The Devil: A New Biography (Cornell UP and I.B. Tauris, 2014), The Lancashire Witches (I.B. Tauris, 2012), England’s First Demonologist: Reginald Scot and his Discoverie of Witchcraft (I.B.Tauris 2011), Adam and Eve in Seventeenth-Century Thought (Cambridge University Press, 1999, 2008), Heaven and Hell in Enlightenment England (Cambridge University Press, 2004, 2008), The Witches of Warboys: An Extraordinary Story of Sorcery, Sadism, and Satanic Possession (I.B.Tauris, 2008), Demonic Possession & Exorcism in Early Modern England (Cambridge University Press, 2004, 2007).
Books
- Élet A Halál Után: A Túlvilág Rövid Története (Budapest: Corvina, 2018)
- God: A New Biography (London: IB Tauris, 2018)
- Diabel: Nowa Biographia (Warszawa: Bellona, 2018)
- Les bruixes de Warboys (Barcelona: Edicions Avantasla, 2018)
- Jenseits: Eine Geschichte des Lebens nach dem Tode (Darmstadt: Lambert Schneider Verlag, 2017).
- The Lancashire Witches: A Chronicle of Sorcery and Death on Pendle Hill (London: I. B. Tauris, 2016, paperback edition).
- Afterlife: A History of Life After Death (London & Ithaca, N.Y: I.B Tauris and Cornell University Press, 2016). Jenseits: Eine Geschichte des Lebens Nach Dem Tode, German tr. Manfred Weltecke (Darmstadt, Germany: Lambert Schneider Verlag, 2017). Élet A Halál Után: A Túlvilág Rövid Története, Hungarian tr. András Barabás (Budapest: Corvina, 2018).
- The Devil: A New Biography (London: I.B. Tauris, 2016, paperback edition).
- De Duivel: Een Biographie (Zoutermeer: Uitgeverij Meinema, 2015).
- The Devil: A New Biography (London & Ithaca, N.Y: I.B Tauris and Cornell University Press, 2014).
- The Lancashire Witches: A Chronicle of Sorcery and Death on Pendle Hill (London: I.B.Tauris, 2012).
- England’s First Demonologist: Reginald Scot and his Discoverie of Witchcraft (London: I.B.Tauris, 2011).
- Adam and Eve in Seventeenth-Century Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, paperback edition).
- Heaven and Hell in Enlightenment England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, paperback edition).
- The Witches of Warboys: An Extraordinary Story of Sorcery, Sadism, and Satanic Possession (London: I.B.Tauris, 2008).
- Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007, paperback edition).
- The British Discovery of Buddhism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006, paperback edition).
- Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).
- Adam and Eve in Seventeenth-Century Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999).
- Heaven and Hell in Enlightenment England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
- The British Discovery of Buddhism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988).
- Heretic and Hero: Muhammad and the Victorians. Studies in Oriental Religions Series, no.18 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1989).
- Rudolf Otto: An Introduction to his Philosophical Theology. Studies in Religion Series (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1984).
- Mystical Experience and Religious Doctrine: An Investigation of the Study of Mysticism in World Religions. Religion and Reason Series, no. 26. (Berlin: Mouton, 1982).
Recent articles and book chapters
- “Science Witchcraft, and Demonology: The Saducismus Triumphatus of Joseph Glanvil and Henry More,” In Umbra: Demonology as a Semiotic System 5 (2016): 185-202.
- "Violence and Possession," in Bruce R. Smith (ed.), The Cambridge Guide to the World of Shakespeare, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016, pp. 822-7.
- “John Napier and the Mathematics of the 'Middle Future’ Apocalypse,” Scottish Journal of Theology 63 (2010): 54-69.
- "John Mason and his Religion: An Enthusiastic Millenarian in late 17th-Century England," The Seventeenth Century 24 (2009): 156-76.
- "King James I and the Burning of Reginald Scot’s The Discoverie of Witchcraft: The Invention of a Tradition," Notes and Queries 56 (2009): 209-213.
- "Thomas Brightman and the Origins of Philo-semitism: An Elizabethan Theologian and the Restoration of the Jews to Israel," Reformation and Renaissance Review 9 (2007): 3-25.
- "Adam, Pre-Adamites, and Extra-Terrestrial Beings in Early Modern Europe,” Journal of Religious History 30 (2006): 163-74.
- “‘The Witches of Warboys’: A Bibliographical Note,” Notes and Queries 52 (2005): 192-3.
For a full list of publications click here
A listing of Philip Almond's engagement activities can be found here.