Karel Dobbelaere (born 16 September 1933) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

educator and noted sociologist of religion. Dobbelaere is an Emeritus Professor of both the

University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp ( nl, Universiteit Antwerpen) is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UA'', but ''UAntwerpen'' is more recently used. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 stud ...

and the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

(Louvain) in Belgium. He is past-President and General Secretary of the

International Society for the Sociology of Religion The International Society for the Sociology of Religion (ISSR), also known as the Société Internationale de Sociologie des Religions (SISR), arose in 1989 from the International Conference on Sociology of Religion (''Conférence Internationale de ...

Academic career

Karel Dobbelaere was born in Nieuwpoort in Belgium on 16 September 1933. He studied at the Katholieke Universiteit (

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 univ ...

) in Leuven, where he received his doctorate in Social Sciences in 1966. He was appointed a professor at Katholieke Universiteit in 1968. He has done important work in the area of the place of religion in the social fabric, and how secularization of religious roles in public institutions affects both society and religion. He has done fieldwork with

Bryan R. Wilson Bryan Ronald Wilson (25 June 1926 – 9 October 2004), was Reader Emeritus in Sociology at the University of Oxford and President of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion (1971–75). He became a Fellow of All Souls College, ...

in researching new religious movements and sects. He also contributed for many years on the Social Sciences committee in Belgium's National Fund for Scientific Research. His teaching focus was

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

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, ...

. His research fields have been in the effects of religious participation and in

new religious movements A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...

and

sects A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that b ...

. He is a member of both the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

and the

Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts The Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts ( nl, Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten, or KVAB) is one of an independent learned society of science and arts of the Flemish Community in Belgium. ...

. He also has held visiting professorships at various institutions and universities worldwide. He has authored, coauthored and edited over 200 books, articles and studies. Among his published works are the books ''Secularization: An Analysis at Three Levels'' (P.I.E.—Peter Lang, 2002), ''A Time to Chant'' (Clarendon, 1994) and ''Secularization: A Multidimensional Concept'' (Sage, 1982).

Theory of secularization

Dobbelaere is known for his defense of the classic theory of

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

and has been criticized as such. In fact, however, Dobbelaere’s theory of secularization argues that the phenomenon should be studied at three different levels. He calls them “macro-secularization,” “meso-secularization,” and “micro-secularization.” The “macro-secularization” refers to the decreasing influence of religion on society. Dobbelaere believes there is little doubt that social and political choices are less and less influenced by religion, at least in Western societies, and notes that most sociologists argue with him on this point. The “micro-secularization” refers to the sphere of private beliefs. Contrary to other theorists of secularization, Dobbelaere observes that religion does indeed survive at the “de-institutionalized” level of private beliefs and practices. Here, again, he believes that most sociologists of religion would agree with him. Dobbelaere is conscious that the most controversial part of its theory concerns what he calls “meso-secularization,” by which he means the decline of the organizational level of religion, measured by several indicators, among them church attendance and donations to institutional religion. Dobbelaere argues that religious organizations and institutions are generally declining in the modern world, while his critics claim that this form of secularization is typical of Western Europe (and perhaps Canada and Australia/New Zealand) only, but not of the United States, nor of Latin America, Asia and Africa.

Study of Soka Gakkai

Dobbelaere was among the first Western scholars to publish sociological studies of the Japanese religious movement

Soka Gakkai is a Japanese Buddhist religious movement based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese priest Nichiren as taught by its first three presidents Tsunesaburō Makiguchi, Jōsei Toda, and Daisaku Ikeda. It is the largest of the Japanese ...

. In ''A Time to Chant'', which he co-authored with British sociologist

, he argued that Soka Gakkai had been successful in the United Kingdom by surrendering certain Japanese features and adapting to the European context. In his later book, ''Soka Gakkai: From Lay Movement to Religion'' (2001), Dobbelaere exploded the conflict and eventual separation between the lay leaders of Soka Gakkai and the monks of

Nichiren Shoshu Nichiren (16 February 1222 – 13 October 1282) was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. Nichiren declared that the Lotus Sutra alone contains the highest truth of Buddhist teachings suited for the Third Age of B ...

as an exemplary case of the tension that is generated when lay members seeking a religious support for their secular lives and priests whose main aim is perpetuating their hierarchical power work together. Dobbelaere also discussed how, after the separation from the monks, Soka Gakkai was reorganized with a different structure but eventually evolved into a full-fledged “religion” and continued with its successful missions abroad.HURST, Jane
“Book Review”
''Journal of Global Buddhism'', vol. 3, 2002, 86–91.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobbelaere, Karel Belgian sociologists Sociologists of religion Researchers of new religious movements and cults 1933 births Living people People from Nieuwpoort, Belgium KU Leuven faculty Members of Academia Europaea