Charles Y. Glock


Charles Young Glock was an American sociologist whose work focuses on sociology of religion and survey research.

Biography and academic background

Charles Glock was born in the Bronx, New York in 1919. He earned a B.S. degree in marketing at New York University and an M.B.A. at Boston University. After four years of military service in the US Army, Glock earned a Ph.D. in sociology at Columbia University. Glock was professor of sociology at University of California at Berkeley, California. He was twice appointed chair of the department. Glock died on October 19, 2018 at the age of 99 in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Measures of religiosity

Glock is probably best known for his five-dimensional scheme of the nature of religious commitment. His list consist of the following variables: belief, knowledge, experience, practice and consequences
Glock's first four dimensions have proved widely useful in research, because generally, they are simple to measure survey research.
His five-dimensional scheme inspired other sociologists to compose their own measures of religiosity. One of the more complex spin-offs was Mervin Verbit's twenty-four dimensional measure.

Studies in prejudice and antisemitism

Aside from his accomplishments in sociology of religion, Glock's other important work concerns the sociological and cognitive sources of prejudice. His book "Christian Beliefs and Anti-Semitism" co-authored with Rodney Stark is based on surveys finding quantitative data in support of a theory tying Antisemitism to selective elements in Christian indoctrination.

Books