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(1922-) Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Loyola University Chicago. Scherer was educated in Lutheran schools and ordained a Lutheran pastor in 1950. He completed the Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1963, where he studied with Ernest Burgess, Samuel Kinchloe, and Joachim Wach. In the 1960s, he was on the staff of the National Council of Churches of Christ and contributed to the NCC's large and influential research program in that era. From 1966 to 1990, he taught at Loyola University Chicago, which named him Emeritus Professor in 1990. President, Religious Research Association, 1976-1977.

Scherer's research focus began with an interest in congregations and evolved to encompass the sociology of occupations and organizations. His 1980 edited collection, American Denominational Organization (William Carey Press 1980), reflects these interests. In more recent years, he has given attention to religion and medicine as well.

Scherer is a founding member of both the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Religious Research Association.

—William McKinney

Hartford Institute for Religion Research   hirr@hartsem.edu
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