Karel Dobbelaere

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).

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 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.

Karel Dobbelaere (born 16 September 1933) is a Belgian educator and noted sociologist of religion. Dobbelaere is an Emeritus Professor of both the University of Antwerp and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Louvain) in Belgium. He is past-President and General Secretary of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion.

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