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Dan Olson
Associate Professor of Sociology
Dan Olson received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago (1987) and came to Purdue faculty in August of 2007 after being at Indiana University South Bend where he was Professor and Chair of the department of sociology and anthropology.
Personal Homepage: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~dvolson/index.html
Office Phone: (765) 496-2436
Office Fax: (765) 496-1476
Email: dolson@purdue.edu
Specialization: Sociology of religion (religious contexts/markets, change/secularization, religious organizations and social networks, religion and politics), research Methods, social networks, social theory.
Dan Olson’s recent publications have focused on ways that the religious composition of geographic areas does and does not affect the religious behavior of individuals and religious organizations in those same areas (e.g., “Religious Pluralism and Participation: Why Previous Research is Wrong,” American Sociological Review 2002). He is co-editor with Detlef Pollack of The Role of Religion in Modern Societies (Routledge, 2007) and is past-president of the Religious Research Association. Much of his research utilizes data on American Protestantism, especially congregations and denominations.
Positions at Purdue: Associate Professor of Sociology, August 2007 – present.
Service to Profession:
President (2005-2006), Past President (2007) Religious Research Association.
Editorial board, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2003 to present.
Council Member for the Section on Sociology of Religion American Sociological Association, 2002-2004.
Secretary, Religious Research Association, 1999-2001.
Chair, Distinguished Article Award Committee, Society for Scientific Study of Religion, 1999.
Member, editorial board for Sociology of Religion 1997- 2005.
Member, Executive Council, Association for the Sociology of Religion, 1997-2000.
Member, governing board of the Religious Research Association, 1996-1999.
Consulting editor for the American Journal of Sociology. 1994-1996.
Honors and Awards:
Co-Winner, IU South Bend Distinguished Research Award, for 2003, $5,000 Prize.
Elected to FACET (Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching – Indiana University) 1997.
Awarded competitive one-year visiting research fellowship, Center for the Study of American Religion, Princeton University, 1992-93.
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