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(1913-1987) Deputy Director of the Social Secretariat of the Diocese of Lille (France) in which capacity he stimulated socioreligious research; this resulted in the establishment in 1959 of a regional Center of Socioreligious Research, which he chaired.

In 1969, at a crucial moment in the history of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion (then CISR, now SISR), he became Secretary General. In this capacity, he organized eight international conferences and made the transition from a socioreligious society toward a scientific organization acceptable to members involved in pastoral research. The successive presidents—Acquaviva, Wilson, Martin, and Dobbelaere—whom he seconded organizationally, were in charge of its scientific policy.

—Karel Dobbelaere

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