Encyclopedia of Religion
and Society

William H. Swatos, Jr. Editor

Table of Contents | Cover Page  |  Editors  |  Contributors  |  Introduction  |  Web Version

LONG, THEODORE EDWARD

(1944-) Sociologist, academic administrator. Ph.D. in sociology, University of Virginia, 1979, studying particularly with Jeffrey Hadden and Randall Collins. He has taught at George Washington University, Hollins College, and Washington and Jefferson College. From 1989 to 1996, he served as Dean, Vice President, and Provost at Merrimack College, at which time he was elected President of Elizabethtown College, which position he now holds. President, Association for the Sociology of Religion, 1991.

Most of Long's publications deal with theoretical issues. He has updated Weber's analysis of prophetic religion (1986, 1988), analyzed the place of healing in religion (1983), and proposed theories concerning new religious movements (1993, Long and Hadden 1983). He did a comprehensive study of the clergy and union activists who protested against unemployment in the Pittsburgh area from 1983 to 1987. The early stages of these protests were supported by agencies of the Lutheran Church. A preliminary report of his findings has been published (1990).

In addition to his scholarly work, Long has been an active member of professional organizations in the sociology of religion. From 1981 to 1988, he served as committee chair, council member, and executive officer of the Association for the Sociology of Religion. Long made a major contribution to improving the organizational effectiveness and financial solvency of the association. He also collaborated with Jeffrey Hadden in publishing a festschrift in honor of Joseph H. Fichter, Religion and Religiosity in America (Crossroad 1983), which began the ASR's Fichter Research Grant fund.

See also Association for the Sociology of Religion

William Silverman

References

T. E. Long, "Religion and Therapeutic Action," in Religion and Religiosity in America , ed. J. K. Hadden and T. E. Long (New York: Crossroad, 1983): 144-156

T. E. Long, "Prophecy, Charisma, and Politics," in Prophetic Religions and Politics , ed. J. K. Hadden and A. Shupe (New York: Paragon House, 1986): 3-17

T. E. Long, "A Theory of Prophetic Religion and Politics," in The Politics of Religion and Social Change , ed. A. Shupe and J. K. Hadden (New York: Paragon House, 1988): 3-16

T. E. Long, "To Reconcile Prophet and Priest," Sociological Focus 23(1990):251-265

T. E. Long, "New Religions and the Political Order," in Handbook on Cults and Sects in America , Vol. A, ed. D. G. Bromley and J. K. Hadden (Greenwich, Conn.: JAI, 1993): 263-276

T. E. Long and J. K. Hadden, "Religious Conversion and the Concept of Socialization," Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 22(1983):1-14.

return to Encyclopedia Table of Contents

Hartford Institute for Religion Research   hirr@hartsem.edu
Hartford Seminary, 77 Sherman Street, Hartford, CT 06105  860-509-9500