David O. Moberg, Ph.D.
Born in Minnesota, Dr. Moberg attended Bethel Junior College (A.A., 1942) and the University of Minnesota. After service in the army in World War II, he graduated in 1947 with a degree in history from Seattle Pacific College and received the Master of Arts in sociology from the University of Washington in 1949.
While teaching at Bethel College in St. Paul, MN he completed his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, writing his dissertation on religion and personal adjustment in old age—beginning his areas of specialty in sociology of religion and social gerontology. Over the next twenty years he advanced from the rank of instructor to professor of Sociology and chair of the Social Sciences department at Bethel College.
In 1968 Dr. Moberg accepted the position of professor of Sociology at Marquette University, a position he held until 1991 when he was granted emeritus status. He also served as chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology from 1968 to 1977. In the year of his retirement, Bethel College established the Moberg Lectureship in Christianity and Sociology. Moberg, a prolific author, having written and edited 28 books and hundreds of articles in professional journals, is well-known for his research on aging and faith. His books, The Church as a Social Institution: The Sociology of American Religion (1962) and The Great Reversal: Evangelism Versus Social Concern (1972), are especially regarded and have gone through several editions. He has been credited for the concepts behind the widely used spiritual well-being scale.
Moberg helped found the Christian Sociological Society and has fostered the work of the Association of Christians Teaching Sociology. One of Moberg’s more important contributions to the field of sociology was the founding of the Association for the Development of Religious Information Systems (ADRIS), an organization dedicated to promoting a global network of religious information exchange. He has held leadership positions in many professional societies, including presidencies of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, Religious Research Association, and the Wisconsin Sociological Association. Although retired from teaching, he continues to research, write, and serve as an editorial referee. He remains a Bible study teacher and is a board member of several elder-living-related organizations.
