CURRICULUM VITAE

David W. Machacek

Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life
Trinity College
300 Summit Street
Hartford, CT 06106
(860) 297-4233
David.Machacek@trincoll.edu

Current Position
Resident Fellow, Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life; and Visiting Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Trinity College.

Field
General: Sociology of Religion
Special: Religion in America, New Religious Movements, Classical Theory

Research Interests
Religious Pluralism; New Religious Movements; Religion, Politics, Economy, and Civil Society

Education
1998  Ph.D. in Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara.
1993  MA in Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara.
1990  BA (Summa cum Laude) in Theology, Texas Lutheran College, Seguin.

Ph.D. Qualification
Committee:      Phillip E. Hammond, Chair
                       Wade Clark Roof
                       Ninian Smart

 Dissertation:  Soka Gakkai in America: Assimilation and Conversion

Whereas many of the new religions that emerged in the United States in the 20th century experienced periods of growth followed by sudden decline, Soka Gakkai International (SGI-USA) achieved organizational stability. This study examines three reasons for Soka Gakkai’s success in the United States: 1) Social changes that made the United States a more hospitable environment for religions of eastern origin, 2) sound strategies on the part of Soka Gakkai leaders, and 3) a growing demand in the US public for religion with “transmodern” characteristics. 

Professional Memberships
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
Association for the Sociology of Religion
American Academy of Religion

Academic Experience
2003-cont. Resident Fellow, Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life; Visiting Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Trinity College. Courses taught:

            “Religion, Sexuality, and Law "
            "Diversity and Democracy”
             “Religion, Economy, and Society”
            “Religion and American Public Policy”

 2000-2003. Director, Religious Pluralism in Southern California Project; Lecturer in Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara. Courses taught:

“Voices of the Stranger”
“Religious Organizations”
“Seminar in the History and Theory of Religious Studies”
“Seminar in the Sociology of Religion”

 1998-2000. Lecturer in Religious Studies & Writing, UC Santa Barbara. Courses taught:

“Voices of the Stranger”
“Introduction to Religion in America”
“Religion and Sexuality”
“Reading Statistics: Quantitative Methods in the Study of Religion”
“Academic Writing”
“Writing and Research Process”
“Writing for the Social Sciences”

1997-1998. Graduate Student Researcher, SGI-USA Membership Study, Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research, UC Santa Barbara.

1996. Visiting Lecturer, UC Riverside, Department of Religious Studies. Courses taught:

“Religion, Economy, and Society”
“History of Religion in America”

1996. Research Assistant, Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research, UC Santa Barbara.

1990-1996. Teaching Assistant in Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara.

 University Service & Professional activities

2003-cont.

Member, Board of Editorial Consultants, Nova Religio.

2003-cont.

Associate Editor, Religion in the News

2002-cont.

Lecturer and Field Trip Director, Fulbright American Studies Summer Institute at UC Santa Barbara.

2004

International Research Exchange Program Host Advisor to Serik Aidossov, executive director of the Sociological Resource Center, Kazakhstan

2003

Conference Organizer, Religious Pluralism in Southern California, UC Santa Barbara, May 8-9.

2002

Public Forum Organizer, “God and Country: the Role of Religion in American Public Life” featuring Barry Lynn (Americans United for the Separation of Church and State) and Ralph Reed (Christian Coalition), UC Santa Barbara, February 28.

2002

Symposium Organizer, “Religion, Law, and the Sacred: Reflections on the work of Phillip E. Hammond,” UC Santa Barbara, May 17.

1997

Member, Compass Committee (to evaluate general education curriculum), UC Santa Barbara.

1993-94

Member, Recreation Center Building Committee, UC Santa Barbara.

PUBLIC SERVICE

2005-cont.

Commissioner, Connecticut State Commission on National and Community Service

1995-1996

Manager, Young Adult Community Project (formerly Pride Mission), Pacific Pride Foundation, Santa Barbara, CA

1993-1995

Volunteer, Pride Mission (AIDS education and prevention project of the University of California at San Francisco), Santa Barbara, CA

Honors and Awards

George Bernard Fellowship, University of California Santa Barbara, 1995.
 Rowney Fellowship, Department of Religious Studies, University of California Santa Barbara, 1990-1994.

 Invited Presentations, Conference Papers

1991

“Vision of a Cleared Planet.” Century Club Symposium on Millennialism, University of California Santa Barbara, CA, June 14.

Conference paper

1992

With Dalton, et al., “Bringing Tocqueville In: Remedying a Neglect in the Sociology of Religion,” American Academy of Religion, Western Region, Santa Clara, CA, March 21.

Conference paper

1993

“Processes of Social Influence and the Development of Nontraditional Religiosity: Prior Socialization Reconsidered,” Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Raleigh, NC, November 6.

Conference paper

1994

“What Evangelicals and Queers have in Common: Conscience and Community in America,” Queer Graduate Colloquium, UC Santa Barbara, November 15.

Colloquium paper

 

“Strictness or Structure? Some Thoughts on Why Conservative Churches Grow,” American Academy of Religion, Western Region, Santa Clara, CA, March 19.

Conference paper

1996

“Generation X and Religion: The General Social Survey Data,” Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Nashville, TN, November 9.

Conference paper

1997

“The SGI-USA Membership Survey,” Religion in the Modern World Conference, Helsinki, Finland.

Conference paper

1998

“Emergent Transmodernism: The Appeal of Soka Gakkai in the United States,” Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, San Diego, CA, November 8.

Conference paper

 

“Highlights of Soka Gakkai in America,” Public lecture/Book signing, SGI-USA Friendship Center, Santa Monica, CA, July 10.

Lecture

1999

“Immigrant Buddhists in America,” Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Boston, MA, November 5.

Conference paper

 

With Kerry Mitchell, “Karmic Shift: Social Change among Japanese Buddhists in America,” Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Boston, MA, November 5.

Conference paper

 

 “Soka Gakkai in America,” and “Awakening to Pluralism,” Guest lectures at Texas Lutheran College, Seguin, TX, November 16.

Lectures

2000

“Soka Gakkai in America: Major Findings,” Hosted by Kinokuniya Press, Tokyo, April 24.

Lecture

 

Panelist, “Career meets critics—Phillip E. Hammond,” Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, October 21.

Conference panel

2002

“The Problem of Pluralism,” Soka University, Aliso Viejo, CA, January 18.

Lecture

 

“The Problem of Pluralism,” Religious Studies Department, Santa Clara University, January 23.

Colloquium Paper

 

“Whence the Sacred in American Society? Disestablishment, Extravasation, and Constitutional Faith,” Religion, Law, and the Sacred Symposium, UC Santa Barbara, May 17.

Paper

 

“Pacific Pluralism,” American Academy of Religion, Toronto, November 25.

Conference paper

2003

“Religious Pluralism and Civic Culture,” Religious Pluralism in Southern California Conference, UC Santa Barbara, May 8.

Conference paper

 

“Prayer Warriors: African Immigrant Religions,” Religious Pluralism in Southern California Conference, UC Santa Barbara, May 9.

Conference paper

 

“Meaningful Diversity: A Culture of Religious Pluralism,” Religious Pluralism in Southern California Conference, UC Santa Barbara, May 9.

Conference paper

2004

“The Challenge of Pluralism in America,” International Colloquium on Culture, Tradition, and Modernity in the USA, Catholic University of Central Africa, Yaounde, Cameroon, March 29-31.

Conference paper

 

“The 28th Amendment,” New England Political Science Association, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, April 30-May 1.

Conference paper

 

“Religious Pluralism: A Mandate for Public Education,” Teaching American History Professional Development Summer Institute, Hartford Public Schools, August 26.

Lecture

 

“Authors meet critics~Religion on Trial: How Supreme Court Trends Threaten the Freedom of Conscience in America,” Religious Research Association, October 21.

Panel

 

“Religion on Trial,” Trinity Center for Collaborative Teaching and Research, Trinity Authors’ Series, November 17.

Lecture

 

“Unsecular Humanism: From Public Protestantism to the Religion of Conscience,” American Academy of Religion, November 20.

Conference paper

 

“Religion on Trial,” Ethics Resources Center, Austin Community College, November 22.

Lecture

 Publications (Book Reviews, encyclopedia entries, and op-ed.s available on request)

1.       

1992

With Lisle Dalton, Phillip E. Hammond, Julie Ingersoll, Elizabeth Pullen, Roger Valdez, and Brian Wilson, “Bringing Tocqueville In: Remedying a Neglect in the Sociology of Religion,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 31(4).

Article

2.       

1993

With Phillip E. Hammond, “Organizational Development of Cults and Sects,” in D. Bromley and J. Hadden (eds.), Religion and the Social Order, Vol. 3, The Handbook on Cults and Sects in America (Greenwich, CN: JAI Press). Reprinted in P. Hammond, The Dynamics of Religious Organizations: The Extravasation of the Sacred and Other Essays (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).

Chapter

3.       

1998

With Phillip Hammond, “The Soka Gakkai Membership Study,” in U. Nembac (ed.), Faith in the Future: Change in European Religion (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang).

Chapter

4.       

 

With Phillip E. Hammond, “Supply and Demand: The Appeal of American Buddhism,” in D. Williams and C. Queen (eds.), American Buddhism: Methods and Findings in Recent Scholarship (Richmond, Surrey, Great Britain: Curzon Press). Reprinted in P. Hammond, The Dynamics of Religious Organizations: The Extravasation of the Sacred and Other Essays (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).

Chapter

5.       

1999

“The Appeal of Soka Gakkai in the United States: Emergent Transmodernism,” in J. Greer and D. Moberg (ed.), Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 10.

Article

6.       

 

With Phillip Hammond, Soka Gakkai in America: Accommodation and Conversion (Oxford: Oxford University Press; Tokyo: Kinokuniya, 2000 translation [Japanese]).

Book

7.       

2000

“Soka Gakkai in America: Supply and Demand (2),” Journal of Oriental Studies (English version), 10; Journal of Oriental Studies (Japanese version), 39(2).

Article

8.       

 

With Phillip Hammond, 1997 SGI-USA Membership Survey, American Religion Data Archive [Online]. Available: http://www.arda.tm

Data set

9.       

 

With Bryan Wilson (eds.), Global Citizens: The Soka Gakkai Buddhist Movement in the World (Oxford: Oxford University Press; Librairie L’Harmattan, 2004 translation [French]).

Book

10.   

 

“Organizational Isomorphism in SGI-USA,” in Machacek and Wilson (eds.), Global Citizens (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

Chapter

11.   

 

With Kerry Mitchell, “Immigrant Buddhists in America,” In Machacek and Wilson (eds.), Global Citizens (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

Chapter

12.   

2001

“Immigrant Buddhism in America: A Model of Religious Change,” Nova Religio, 5/1 (Oct. 2001): 65-85.

Article

13.   

2003

“The Problem of Pluralism,” Sociology of Religion 64(2): 145-61.

Article

14.   

 

With Melissa Wilcox (eds.), Sexuality in the World’s Religions (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO).

Book

15.   

 

“Religion and Sexual Liberty: Personal versus Civic Morality in America,” In Machacek and Wilcox (eds.), Sexuality in the World’s Religions (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO).

Chapter

16.   

 

“The Case of Chaplain Yee,” Religion in the News, 6(3): 7-8, 23.

Article

17.   

 

“The Religion of Country,” Religion in the News, 6(3): 19-20.

Article

18.   

2004

With Phillip E. Hammond and Eric Mazur. Religion on Trial: How Supreme Court Trends Threaten the Freedom of Conscience in America (Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira).

Book

19.   

 

“Pluralismus als Herausforderung. Das Beispiel USA” [The Challenge of Pluralism in America], Dossier. Nachrichten und Stellungnahmen der Katholischen Sozialakademie Osterreichs (March, 2004): 7-10.

Article

20.   

 

“Marrying in Massachusetts,” Religion in the News, 7(1): 2-4, 26.

Article

21.   

 

“Same-Sex Culture War,” Religion in the News, 7(1): 5-6.

Article

22.   

 

With Adrienne Fulco, “The Courts and Public Discourse: The Case of Gay Marriage,” Journal of Church and State (Autumn, 2004): 767-85.

Article

23.   

 

“Tying the Knot in the Bay State,” Religion in the News, 7(2): 6-7, 25.

Article

24.   

 

“Still under God,” Religion in the News, 7(2): 14-16, 24.

Article

25.   

2005

“Schiavo Interminable,” Religion in the News, 7(3): 6-8.

Article

26.   

Submitted

“New players and new patterns in Pacific region religion.” To appear in W. C. Roof, ed. Religion and Public Life in the Pacific Region: Fluid Identities (Hartford, Conn.: The Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life, expected 2005).

Chapter

27.   

 

With Phillip E. Hammond, “Unsecular Humanism: From Public Protestantism to the Religion of Conscience,” to appear in Barbara McGraw, ed. Taking Religious Pluralism Seriously (Baylor University Press, expected 2005).

Chapter

28.   

 

“Soka Gakkai: A Human Revolution,” to appear in Gallagher and Ashcraft, ed. New and Alternative Religions in the United States (Praeger)

Chapter

29.   

In progress

With Adrienne Fulco, “The Courts and Public Discourse Revisited: The Court-Stripping Bills,” to appear in Engler and Grieve, ed., Historicizing 'Tradition' in The Study of Religion (expected 2005).

Chapter