Dean R. Hoge (May 27, 1937 – September 13, 2008) was an American sociologist, who spent decades studying American

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

s, especially empirical surveys on the priesthood.

Biography

Hoge spend his childhood at

New Knoxville, Ohio New Knoxville is a village in Auglaize County, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1836. The population was 946 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Wapakoneta, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. History New Knoxville was platted ...

Holley, Jo
Dean Hoge; Wrote Key Studies on Religion
''

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'', 2008-09-19, p. B09, retrieved 2008-09-26 and later graduated from the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

School of Architecture (B.S.,

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

, 1960). After studies in 1961 at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

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2005 President's Distinguished Service Award
, retrieved 2008-09-28 he received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the religious studies, academic study of religion or for leadership role ...

in 1964 and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in 1967 and a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1970, both in sociology from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

.Academic CV and list of publications
retrieved 2008-09-26 He served as an instructor and

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...

, ''Department of Christianity and Society'' in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

before joining

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

's faculty in 1974. He served as director of the university's Life Cycle Institute from 1999 to 2004. In his 34-year career, he wrote 25 books about religious life in America.Obituary (National Catholic Reporter)
, retrieved 2008-09-26 His research primarily focused on Catholicism. His first major work was ''Understanding Church Growth and Decline 1950-1978'', co-edited with David Roozen. In 1987 he published ''The Future of Catholic Leadership: Responses to the Priest Shortage'', and in 2001 he co-authored ''Young Adult Catholics: Religion in the Culture of Choice''. He co-authored ''American Catholics: Gender, Generation, and Commitment'' (2001), authored ''The First Five Years of the Priesthood'' (2002), and co-authored ''Evolving Visions of the Priesthood'' (2003) and ''International Priests in America'' (2006). Two major Protestant research studies resulted in co-authored books, ''Vanishing Boundaries: The Religion of Mainline Protestant Baby Boomers'' (1994) and ''Pastors in Transition: Why Clergy Leave Local Church Ministry'' (2005). A cross-denominational study, including Catholics, looked into factors in church giving and led to the book ''Money Matters: Personal Giving in American Churches'' (1996). In 1979/80, he served as president of the Religious Research Association and from October 2007 until his death he served as president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR).Presidents of SSSR
, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, retrieved 2008-09-21

References

1937 births 2008 deaths Sociologists of religion Harvard Divinity School alumni Princeton Theological Seminary faculty Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture alumni University of Bonn alumni Catholic University of America faculty American sociologists People from Auglaize County, Ohio {{reli-sociologist-stub