Michele Dillon

Michele Dillon is the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts (COLA) and the Class of 1944 Professor of Sociology at the University of New Hampshire. Her academic leadership includes roles such as President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and Chair of the American Sociological Association Section on Sociology of Religion. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California-Berkeley, complemented by studies at University College Dublin.

Her research focuses on Catholic Church dynamics, moral politics, and religion’s role in aging and cultural shifts. Notable works include Postsecular Catholicism (2018) and Catholic Identity (1999). Her studies frequently explore institutional adaptation, generational religious change, and the interplay between spirituality and societal structures.

Awarded the Anne Drummey O'Callaghan Lectureship (2011) and Tipton Distinguished Visiting Professorship (2011-12), Dillon’s grants include support from the John Templeton Foundation and the Louisville Institute. Her teaching spans sociological theory and research methods. She has analyzed global Catholicism’s challenges, Ireland’s secular trajectory, and the psychological benefits of religious engagement in later life.