Jeffrey K. Hadden, professor, dies at 66

Jan 28, 2003

Jeffrey K. Hadden, a University of Virginia sociology professor known for his research into religious movements and trends, died in his Charlottesville home Sunday from pancreatic cancer. He was 66.

A U.Va. faculty member since 1972, he was the author of some 25 books, including the acclaimed 1969 work "The Gathering Storm in the Churches." That book examined the Protestant clergy's role in the civil rights movement and the conflict with more conservative laity that resulted.

Dr. Hadden's primary interest for many years was the study of religion and politics including the emergence and political force of the Christian Right in 1980s.

His research on religious broadcasters led to the 1981 book, "Prime Time Preachers: The Rising Power of Televangelism" that he co-wrote with Charles E. Swann and "Televangelism, Power and Politics on God's Frontier" in 1988, written with Anson Shupe.

More recently, his research had focused on new religious movements. In the mid 1990s, Dr. Hadden began to build one of the most respected online sources on the subject. The site contains encyclopedic profiles on more than 150 world faiths and religious movements with sections on religious broadcasting and religious freedom around the world .

"His belief in religious liberty is what connects his interest in religion to his interest in new religions," said Dr. David G. Bromley, a Virginia Commonwealth University sociology professor. Dr. Hadden collaborated with Bromley in editing the two-volume "A Handbook of Cults and Sects in America" in 1993.

"He tried to bring reason and understanding to an area fraught with contentiousness and misunderstanding," Bromley said.

Toward the end of his life, Dr. Hadden put together a team of associates who will continue his research and online work.

In an online introduction to the site, Dr. Hadden wrote, "Over the years, students who take my course in New Religious Movements enter with the same perspective of the broader culture - extreme skepticism, if not outright disdain, toward groups that popular culture knows as 'cults.' Early in the term I tell them that how we respond to new religions is the real test of our commitment to religious freedom."

Dr. Hadden was a president of the Southern Sociological Society, the Scientific Study of Religion and the Association for the Sociology of Religion. He chaired the publications committee for the American Sociological Association and was a former associate editor of three professional journals, Sociological Analysis, Social Forces and Social Inquiry.

He had also researched and written extensively on urban and family issues.

Dr. Hadden held bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Kansas and earned a Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Wisconsin in 1963. Before joining U.Va he was a faculty member at Purdue, Case Western and Tulane universities.

Survivors include his wife, Elaine McQueen Hadden; two daughters, Nora Marie MacIntyre of Denver and Donna Sarah Hadden of Eau Claire, Wis.; and four grandchildren.

Arrangements for a memorial service are pending.