London

Ninian Smart, a teacher and author on comparative religion, has died at the age of 73.

Mr. Smart, a Scot, called himself an "Episcopalian-Buddhist" to demonstrate his feeling that no religion has a monopoly on the truth. He was a flamboyant character known for wearing kilts on campus at the University of California, where he taught.

Mr. Smart wrote more than 30 books, including The Religious Experience, Buddhism and Christianity - Rivals and Allies and, in 1999, World Philosophies.

He died suddenly in Lancaster, England, in January.