Richard Flory

Richard Flory has been teaching courses in the sociology of religion and culture at Biola University since 1992. His undergraduate degree is in American Studies, and his PhD is in Sociology, from the University of Chicago. His primary interests are the interaction between religious beliefs, religious institutions, and emerging global culture. He is associate editor of The Encyclopedia of Fundamentalism (Routledge, 2001), and editor of GenX Religion, (Routledge 2000). He has published articles on various aspects of religion and American culture in professional journals and in edited volumes, most recently, "Promoting a Secular Standard: Modern Journalism and the Secularization of American Public Life, 1870-1930," (in The Secular Revolution: Power, Interests and Conflict in the Secularization of American Public Life, University of California Press, 2003) and "Intentional Change and the Maintenance of Mission: The Impact of Adult Education Programs at Two Evangelical Colleges" (Review of Religious Research, June 2002). In addition, in collaboration with Donald Miller (University of Southern California, Center for Religion and Civic Culture), and Dan Callis (Biola University, Art Department), he has created an interactive, multi-media art gallery installation ("Finding Faith: Christianity in a New Generation") that was first shown in the Biola University Art Gallery in February 2003, and is scheduled for installation at two southern California galleries during the fall of 2003. His current research includes projects investigating Post-Baby Boomer religion ("The Recovery of Ritual: The Spiritual Quest of the Post-Boomer Generations"), adolescent religion ("Youth Culture and Religious Faith"), and emerging forms of Pentecostal Christianity ("Postmodern Pentcostals"). His research has been supported by grants from the Louisville Institute, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Lilly Endowment, and Biola University.