 In 1890 he became a professor of New Testament exegesis at Göttingen, later relocating to the University of Giessen (1916).Bousset was a prominent figure in the "Religionsgeschichtliche Schule" (history of religions school), a group that included scholars such as Richard August Reitzenstein (1861–1931), Albert Eichhorn (1856–1926) and Hermann Gunkel (1862–1932).His better known work involved comparative studies between the Early Christian Church and other religious beliefs, particularly Hellenistic Judaism.