André Gounelle

Born in Nîmes on 9 May 1933, Gounelle was born into a family of Protestant pastors and theologians, notably his uncle Élie Gounelle [fr] and his nephew Rémi Gounelle. He grew up in Oran in what was then French Algeria and attended secondary school in Casablanca in the French protectorate in Morocco. He studied letters and philosophy at the University of Montpellier^[2] before earning a master's in theology from the Faculté de théologie protestante de Montpellier [fr]. He earned a doctorate from the Faculté de théologie protestante de Strasbourg [fr] in 1982 with a thesis titled Le Problème de Dieu et le statut de la théologie.^[3]

In 1958, Gounelle was consecrated as a pastoral minister within the Reformed Church of France. From 1959 to 1961, he served as a military chaplain during the Algerian War. He then entered academia, serving as dean of the Faculté de théologie protestante de Montpellier from 1975 to 1981.^[4] He established close relations with the Université Laval and established theological research programs. From 1980 to 1990, he served on the scientific council of the University of Montpellier Paul Valéry. Throughout his career, he was committed to interreligious dialogue, fostering relationships with Buddhist and Shinto groups and giving several lectures in association with the Amitié judéo-chrétienne de France [fr].

Gounelle died in Castelnau-le-Lez near Montpellier on 4 May 2025, at the age of 91.^[5]