He came to us from the Lawrenceville School, majored in SPIA, and joined Quadrangle. He served on the class memorial insurance committee and the Hillel Foundation. His roommates were Al Gilgen, John Van Patten, and Burt Weiss.
After Army service he earned a master’s degree from Penn in 1957 and a Ph.D. in 1960 in anthropology. From 1963 he spent his career teaching at Brandeis with great success and writing numerous books and articles on religion and belief as practiced in a range of societies, including our own. He received grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Science Foundation and spent a year as visiting professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also served as president of The Society for the Anthropology of Religion.
Ben’s death brought a message from the provost’s office at Brandeis saluting Ben’s achievements and his popularity with students. He is survived by his wife, Joyce; and children, Michael, Judith, and Bethel, to whom the class sends its best wishes.