PETTAZZONI, RAFFAELE

born Feb. 3, 1883, Persiceto, Italy died Dec. 8, 1959, Rome Italian historian of religions and educator, a founder and president (1950-59) of the International Association for the Study of History of Religions. His original comparative method is shown in many works, among them his studies Dio, formazione e sviluppo del monoteismo nella storia delle religioni (1922; "God, the Formation and Development of Monotheism in the History of Religions"), La confessione dei peccati, 3 vol. (1929-35; "The Confession of Sins"), and L'essere supremo nelle religioni primitive (1957; "The Supreme Being in Primitive Religions").