Daniel V. A. Olson    

Professor of Sociology Emeritus
Purdue University

To Contact me -- Use email (below). If you need to talk by phone, indicate that in your e-mail.
dolson@purdue.edu   E-mail is often the best way to reach me.  I check it regularly.

E-mail to set up a phone or video call or an in-person meet up, lunch, etc.


Retirement

I retired at the end of July, 2023. For the time being we (my wife Shirley and I) are keeping our residence in West Lafayette, but we are traveling a fair bit too.
I continue some research and writing work, but more as a hobby than a job.
I am happy to meet to discuss sociological topics and give help as I am able to those with questions related to sociology of religion
I continue to review manuscripts for journals.

Prospective graduate students interested in the very robust sociology of religion program at Purdue should contact Prof. Fenggang Yang, Prof. Daniel Winchester, Prof. Jacqui Frost, or Prof. Christopher Seto (who combines an interest in sociology of religion with his interest in Criminology). I am still mentoring one ABD graduate student through to graduation but can no longer accept new graduate students. I am also available (depending on my schedule) to meet with current graduate students with interests in sociology of religion
 


Full Vita Online

All of my articles and book chapters are available online by request from a special web page -- contact me for the web address dolson@purdue.edu (Sorry, but I have to have this restriction to honor copyright rules).


Current Research Interests:
My past research
has examined how the religious composition of geographic areas (e.g., the percent Catholic, the diversity of religion in an area) affects levels and types of religious commitment of people living in the same area especially as it impacts theories of religious competition, growth, or decline as in secularization theories (see Olson 2008; Olson, Jung, Marshall, and Voas 2020). I continue these interests (e.g., Mikoski and Olson 2021) but much of my newer work takes its inspiration from Weber’s Protestant Ethic argument (see my Association for Sociology of Religion Presidential address, Olson 2019). This agenda focuses on the way that the religious composition of people living in an area influences the behavior and attitudes of everyone living in the same area, even people with no religion and people whose religion is different from the majority religion. The hypothesis is that religions create strong religious subcultures. These influence local secular subcultures. These local subcultures, in turn, influence the behavior and attitudes of individuals living in the area. My recent findings (see my CV) shows how the religious composition of cities and counties affects dependent variables as varied as the willingness of survey respondents to trust others (Marshall and Olson 2018) and frequency of underage drinking among young respondents (Nie, Yang, and Olson 2018). This is a newly developing area of research. Other researchers have recently found that religious composition variables influence divorce and teen pregnancy rates, county-level mortality and infant mortality rates, and rates for certain kinds of crimes. Not all of these influences are positive.

 

Recent Papers (*=graduate student at time of submission) -- contact me for copies  -- see above  

Mikoski, Charissa* and Daniel V. A. Olson. 2021 "Does Religious Group Population Share Affect the Religiosity of the Next Generation?" Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 60:611-627/ http://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12727

Olson, Daniel V. A., Jong Hyun Jung*, Joey Marshall*, and David Voas. 2020. “Sacred Canopies or Religious Markets? The Effect of County-level Religious Diversity on Later Changes in Religious Involvement.” Journal for Scientific Study of Religion. 59:227-246. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12651

Co-winner of the 2021 Best Article Award from the International Society for the Sociology of Religion

Olson, Daniel V. A. 2019. "The Influence of Your Neighbors’ Religions on You, Your Attitudes and Behaviors, and Your Community" Sociology of Religion. (2018 Presidential Address to the Association for the Sociology of Religion). 80: 147-167. https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srz001
Podcast of interview concerning this article.

Marshall, Joey* and Daniel V. A. Olson (equal co-authorship).  2018. “Is ‘Spiritual but not Religious’ a Replacement for Religion or Just One Step on the Path Between Religion and Non-Religion?” Review of Religious Research 60:503–518   https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-018-0342-9

Marshall, Joey* and Daniel V. A. Olson. 2018. "Local Religious Subcultures and Generalized Social Trust in the United States." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 57: 473-494.  https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12539

Nie, Fanhao*, Xiaozhao Yang*, and Daniel V. A. Olson. 2018. “Religious Context Matters: Exploring the Relationship between Religious Context and Underage Alcohol Consumption.” Review of Religious Research. 60: 199-222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-017-0320-7

Jung, Jong Hyun* and Daniel V. A. Olson. 2017.“Where Does Religion Matter Most? A Multinational Analysis of Religion and the Acceptability of Wife Beating.” Sociological Inquiry. 87: 608-633.

Nie, Fanhao* and Daniel V. A. Olson. 2016. “Demonic Influence:  Exploring the Relationship between a Belief in Demons and Change in Mental Health.”  Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 55: 498-515.

Olson, Daniel V. A. and Miao Li*. 2015. "How Does the Religious Composition of Nations Affect Generalized Social Trust? Moral Community and Religious Heterogeneity." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 54:756–773.

Jung, Jong Hyun* and Daniel V. A. Olson. 2014. “Religion, Stress, and Suicide Acceptability in South Korea”
Social Forces 92(3): 1039-1059. 

Alper, Becka* and Daniel V. A. Olson. 2013. “Religious Population Share and Religious Identity Salience: Is Jewish Identity More Important to Jews in High Jewish Population Share Areas?” Sociology of Religion  74:82-106.

Reprinted in Sociology of Religion: A Reader, Third Edition, 2018. Edited by William A. Mirola, Michael O. Emerson, and Susanne C. Monohan. Routledge: 120-134.

Thomas, Jeremy N.* and Daniel V. A. Olson. 2012. “Evangelical Elites’ Changing Responses to Homosexuality 1960-2009.” Sociology of Religion. 73:239-272.

Thomas, Jeremy N.* and Daniel V. A. Olson. 2012. “Beyond the Culture War: Managing Sexual Relationships Inside a Congregation of Gay Evangelicals.”  Review of Religious Research. 54:349–70.

Alper, Becka* and Daniel V. A. Olson.  2011. “Religious Geography and the Case of the Jewish Outsider.”  Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.  50:822–830.

Older Papers Online

Olson and Perl. 2011. A Friend in Creed: Does the Religious Composition of Geographic Areas Affect the Religious Composition of a Person's Close Friends? JSSR

Thomas and Olson. 2010. Testing the Strictness Thesis and Competing Theories of Congregational Growth JSSR

Hill and Olson. 2009. Market Share and Religious Competition: Do Small Market Share Congregations and Their Leaders Try Harder? JSSR

Olson 2008. RRA Presidential Address Why Do Small Religious Groups Have More Committed Members? RRR


Recent Conference Presentations -- gives an idea of my current research agenda

*Mikoski, Charissa and Daniel V. A. Olson. 2019. “Does Local Religious Context Affect Parent to Child Religious Transmission?” Presented at the annual meetings of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, October, St. Louis, MO.  

*Frame, Nicole and Daniel V. A. Olson. 2019. “Does Local Religious Context Influence Young Adult Decisions to Leave Religion?” Presented at the annual meetings of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, October, St. Louis, MO.

 Olson, Daniel V. A. and *Joey Marshall. 2019. “The Influence of Your Neighbors’ Religions on Your Theology.” Presented at the annual meetings of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, October, St. Louis, MO.

 Olson, Daniel V. A., *Brian McPhail, and *Joey Marshall. 2019. “The Influence of Your Neighbors’ Religions on Your Attitudes toward Government Spending.” Presented at the annual meetings of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, October, St. Louis, MO.

Olson, Daniel V. A. 2018 “The Influence of Your Neighbors’ Religions on You, Your Attitudes and Behaviors, and Your Community” Presidential Address to the Association for the Sociology of Religion at their Annual Meetings, Philadelphia, PA, August 2018.

Olson, Daniel V. A., Joey Marshall*, and Jong Hyun Jung*. 2017. “Does Religious Diversity Have Different Effects on the Growth/Decline of Different Kinds of Denominations?” Presented at the annual meetings of the Society for The Scientific Study of Religion, October, Washington, DC.

  Olson, Daniel V. A., Jong Hyun Jung*, Joey Marshall*. 2016. “Does County Religious Composition Affect the Growth and Decline of Denominations?” Presented at the annual meetings of the Society for The Scientific Study of Religion, October, Atlanta, GA.

Marshall, Joey* and Daniel V. A. Olson. 2016. “Local Religious Subcultures and Generalized Social Trust in the United States.” Presented at the annual meetings of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, October, Atlanta, GA.

Marshall, Joey*, Daniel V. A. Olson, Jong Hyun Jung*. 2016. “Inequality and Religiosity in the United States: A Test of the Existential Insecurity Hypothesis.” Presented at the annual meetings of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, August, Seattle, WA.

Olson, Daniel V. A. 2015. “Do Different Varieties of Religious Presence Affect Community Health and Trust Levels?” Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT, November 14th. Invited Presentation for mini-conference on the occasion of the retirement of David Roozen, Hartford Seminary.

Olson, Daniel V. A., Joey Marshall*, Mike Vuolo. 2015. "Does Religious Diversity Reduce Individual Religiosity Over Time Among Teens and Young Adults?" Presented at the annual meetings of the Society for Scientific Study of Religion, October, Newport Beach, California.


Interests

Sociology of Religion

Research Methods and Statistics 
Social Networks
Sociological Theory

Courses I have taught and will be teaching at Purdue:

Other Publications not listed above

Other Selected Publications

Selected Honors and Awards