About
Detlef Pollack is a Senior Professor and Chair of Sociology of Religion at the Institute for Sociology, University of Münster. He has held this position since August 2022, following a distinguished academic career that includes serving as Professor of Sociology of Religion at the Westphalian Wilhelms University Münster from 2008 to 2022, and as Professor of Comparative Cultural Sociology at the Viadrina European University Frankfurt (Oder) from 1995 to 2008. Pollack has been a member of the board of the Excellence Cluster "Religion and Politics" at the University of Münster since 2023 and previously served as its deputy speaker (2019-2021) and speaker (2015-2018).
Pollack's academic background includes a habilitation from Bielefeld University (1994) in Sociology, a doctorate in Sociology of Religion (summa cum laude) from Leipzig University (1984), and theological studies at Leipzig University (1976-1981). His academic journey reflects a deep engagement with both theological and sociological perspectives on religion.
Professor Pollack's research focuses on religious change in Western and Eastern Europe and the USA, political culture in Eastern and Central Europe, GDR research, systems theory, and differentiation theory. His work bridges historical analysis with contemporary sociological theory, particularly examining how religious institutions and practices adapt to modern social structures. He has made significant contributions to understanding secularization processes, religious pluralism, and the relationship between religion and modernity.
Pollack's extensive publication record demonstrates consistent engagement with major debates in the sociology of religion. His recent work explores religious responses to global crises, religious fundamentalism, and the complex relationship between religion, politics, and national identity in contemporary Europe. His research often employs comparative methodologies, examining religious phenomena across different cultural and national contexts.
Among his notable achievements are the Karl-Polányi-Preis from the Hungarian Sociological Society (2018), his fellowship at the Lichtenberg-Kolleg in Göttingen (2011), and his Max Weber Chair at New York University (2003). He has also been recognized with fellowships at Princeton University (1993) and the Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin (1996).
Pollack actively contributes to academic discourse through his leadership roles in professional organizations, including the International Society for the Sociology of Religion (since 1995) and the Sociology of Religion section of the German Sociological Association (since 1994). His teaching portfolio includes seminars on postcolonial theory, Western modernity in times of global crisis, religious fundamentalism, secularization, and the relationship between religion and politics in Russia, Germany, and the USA.
