William Joseph Whalen (January 1, 1926 – March 25, 2008)Deaths
''Inside Purdue'', April 1, 2008, p.8. Retrieved 2011-10-24. was a nationally known US non-fiction writer and an expert on

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...

.''Christianity and American Freemasonry'' blurb
at

Ignatius Press Ignatius Press is a Catholic publishing house based in San Francisco, California, US. It was founded in 1978 by Father Joseph Fessio, a Jesuit priest and former pupil of Pope Benedict XVI. Ignatius Press also produces ''Catholic World Report'', ' ...

website. Accessed 2011-10-24.

Biography

Whalen attended the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

and received degrees from Marquette and Northwestern. He was an information officer with the U. S. Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and served on

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

and

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

."The Quakers, or Our Neighbors, The Friends"
"About the author", at FGC Quaker Library online. Retrieved 2011-10-24. For over forty years Whalen worked at

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

as a professor of communication. From 1950 he also directed the publications program at that school and in 1960 helped found

Purdue University Press Purdue University Press, founded in 1960, is a university press that is part of Purdue University. It is a unit of Purdue University Libraries. History An administrative unit of Purdue University Libraries, Purdue University Press has its roots ...

. Whalen, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, authored or co-authored fifteen books and wrote over two hundred articles, pamphlets and encyclopedia articles. Much of his writing compares Catholicism with other beliefs. He died in 2008 at the age of 82 in West Lafayette, Indiana. At his death, he was director emeritus of university publications and professor emeritus of communication.

Partial list of writings

; Books *
Separated Brethren: A Review of Protestant, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox & Other Religions...
', Our Sunday Visitor (IN); Revised ed. (September 2002), 287pp., *
Christianity and American Freemasonry
', Ignatius Press (1998, 3rd ed.) 215pp., *''Your Guide to Effective Publications: a handbook for campus publications professionals'', with Kelvin J. Arden, CASE (1991), 167pp. *''Strange Gods: Contemporary Religious Cults in America'', Our Sunday Visitor Inc., Ex-library ed. (December 1981), 130pp. *''Other Religions in a World of Change'', with Carl J. Pfeifer S.J., Ave Maria Press (1975), 128pp. *''Minority Religions in America'', Alba House; Rev Sub ed. (1972), 226pp. * *''Handbook of Secret Organizations'', Bruce Publishing: Milwaukee (1966), 169pp. LCCN 66-026658 *''Armageddon Around the Corner: a report on Jehovah's Witnesses'', J. Day Co.: New York (1962), 249pp. OCLC Number: 1261733 *''Christian Family Finance'', Paulist Press (Revised ed. 1964), 160pp. (1960 ed., Bruce Publishing, ASIN: B0007DZQ6S)
''Faiths for the Few: A Study of Minority Religions''
(Bruce Publishing, 1963) ; Pamphlets *''Reaching Out to the Lutherans with Heart and Mind'', Liguori Publications (June 1984), 32pp. *''Reaching Out to the Methodists with Heart and Mind'', Liguori Publications (June 1984), 32pp. *''Reaching Out to the Presbyterians and the Reformed with Heart and Mind'', Liguori Publications (June 1984), 32pp. *''Reaching Out to the Baptists with Heart and Mind'', Liguori Publications (June 1984), 32pp. *''Reaching Out to the Episcopalians with Heart and Mind'', Liguori Publications (June 1984), 32pp.

References

External links

Photo of William J. Whalen in 1951 as University Editor
at Purdue e-Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Whalen, William J 1926 births 2008 deaths American religious writers American Roman Catholics Marquette University alumni Northwestern University alumni University of Notre Dame alumni