Douglas Edward Cowan (born 14 August 1958) is a Canadian academic in
religious studies and the
sociology of religion
Sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. This objective investigation may include the use both of quantitative methods (surveys, ...
and currently holds a teaching position at
Renison University College
Renison University College is an affiliated university college of the University of Waterloo and located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Renison's campus is situated on the western border of Waterloo's main campus. The university college offers a ...
,
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada.
Prior to this appointment he was Assistant Professor of Sociology & Religious Studies at the
University of Missouri–Kansas City
The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...
.
Education and career
Cowan was born in Canada and received his undergraduate education at the
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...
where he was awarded a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree in English literature. He then proceeded to theological studies and received a
Master of Divinity degree from
St. Andrews Theological College. His doctoral work, which involved an examination of the
Christian countercult movement
The Christian countercult movement or the Christian anti-cult movement is a social movement among certain Protestant evangelical and fundamentalist and other Christian ministries ("discernment ministries") and individual activists who oppose ...
through the prism of the
sociology of knowledge
The sociology of knowledge is the study of the relationship between human thought and the social context within which it arises, and the effects that prevailing ideas have on societies. It is not a specialized area of sociology. Instead, it deal ...
and
propaganda theory, was undertaken through the
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...
.
While Cowan currently describes himself as a
methodological agnostic, he was ordained to the Christian ministry in the
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...
, and held pastoral positions during his doctoral studies. After graduating with a
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
degree in 1999 Cowan received a joint appointment in the Department of Sociology/CJC and the UMKC Center for Religious Studies.
During 2005 he relocated from the US to his current teaching post at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
Bibliography
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*Cowan, Douglas E. (2007). "Episode 712: South Park, Ridicule, and the Cultural Construction of Religious Rivalry". ''Journal of Religion and Popular Culture''. 17. .
See also
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Anti-cult movement
The anti-cult movement (abbreviated ACM, and also known as the countercult movement) consists of various governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals that seek to raise awareness of cults, uncover coercive practices used to a ...
*
List of University of Waterloo people
The University of Waterloo, located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, is a comprehensive public university that was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles. It has grown into an institution of more than 42,000 students, faculty, and ...
References
External links
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1958 births
Canadian sociologists
Living people
Ministers of the United Church of Canada
People of the Christian countercult movement
Researchers of new religious movements and cults
Sociologists of religion
University of Calgary alumni
University of Missouri–Kansas City faculty
University of Victoria alumni
University of Waterloo faculty
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