Background
Bryan Ronald Wilson was born on the 25th of June, 1926 in Leeds, United Kingdom.
1952
Senate House, Malet St, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7HU, United Kingdom
In 1952, Bryan Wilson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics with First Class Honours from the University of London.
1955
Houghton St, Holborn, London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom
In 1955, Bryan Wilson obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree at the London School of Economics.
University Rd, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom
Bryan Wilson attended University College in Leicester (now University of Leicester).
https://www.amazon.com/Sects-society-sociological-Tabernacle-Christadelphians/dp/B0006W371G/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Sects+and+Society%3A+A+Sociological+Study+of+the+Elim+Tabernacle%2C+Christian+Science%2C+and+Christadelphians&qid=1576070988&s=books&sr=1-1
1961
(Rationality contains a selection of the best contemporary...)
Rationality contains a selection of the best contemporary writing on one of the central issues in the philosophy of social science.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rationality-Key-Concepts-Social-Science/dp/063109900X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Rationality.+Key+Concepts+in+the+Social+Sciences&qid=1576071198&s=books&sr=1-1
1970
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Noble-Savages-Primitive-Contemporary-1975-10-01/dp/B01K3GZ89I/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+Noble+Savages%3A+The+Primitive+Origins+of+Charisma+and+Its+Contemporary+Survival&qid=1576071290&s=books&sr=1-1
1975
(Ranging through sectarianism, monotheism, religious exclu...)
Ranging through sectarianism, monotheism, religious exclusivity, and the moral dimensions of religious commitment, the author traces new and exciting lines of sociological inquiry in the field of religion.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Religion-Sociological-Perspective-Bryan-Wilson/dp/0198266642/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=Religion+in+Sociological+Perspective&qid=1576071321&s=books&sr=1-4
1982
(In this wide-ranging collection, Bryan Wilson explores th...)
In this wide-ranging collection, Bryan Wilson explores the complex relationships between religious sects and contemporary Western society. He examines the controversial social, political, and religious issues that arise as sects seek to pursue a way of life at variance with that of other people, and which at times brings them into conflict with outsiders or with the state.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Social-Dimensions-Sectarianism-Contemporary-Paperbacks/dp/0198278837/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+Social+Dimensions+of+Sectarianism%3A+Sects+and+New+Religious+Movements+in+Contemporary+Society&qid=1576071378&s=books&sr=1-1
1992
(Fifty years ago Soka Gakkai was an organization of a few ...)
Fifty years ago Soka Gakkai was an organization of a few hundred people, all of them in Japan. Today it is one of the world's most rapidly expanding religious movements with members in virtually every country in Europe, the Americas, and Australasia, in most of Asia, and in several parts of Africa. It is also increasingly well-publicized, sponsoring and promoting a variety of cultural and educational causes and establishing a high profile for itself in world affairs
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Chant-Buddhists-Clarendon-Paperbacks/dp/0198293143/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=A+Time+to+Chant%3A+The+S%C5%8Dka+Gakkai+Buddhists+in+Britain&qid=1576071416&s=books&sr=1-1
1994
(New Religious Movements: Challenge & Response is the most...)
New Religious Movements: Challenge & Response is the most comprehensive, wide-ranging study on the phenomena and impact of new religions.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Religious-Movements-Challenge-Response/dp/0415200504/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=New+Religious+Movements%3A+Challenge+and+Response&qid=1576071466&s=books&sr=1-1
1999
Bryan Ronald Wilson was born on the 25th of June, 1926 in Leeds, United Kingdom.
Bryan Wilson attended University College in Leicester (now University of Leicester). In 1952, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics with First Class Honours from the University of London. He was awarded an Arnold Gerstenberg studentship, which allowed him to take up a place at the London School of Economics and in 1955, he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree from it.
Bryan also received a Doctor of Literature degree from Oxford University in 1984, an honorary Doctor of Letters from Soka University in Tokyo in 1985, and an honorary Doctor degree from University Louvain in Belgium in 1992. He was awarded a Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Oxford in 1994.
Bryan Wilson began his academic career as a lecturer in sociology at the University of Leeds in 1955. He taught there until 1962, and was warden of Sadler Hall from 1959 to 1962. There Wilson taught courses on urban sociology, sociological theory, and the social institutions of modern Britain, as well as on the sociology of religion.
In 1962, Wilson joined the Oxford University faculty as a reader in sociology, where he served until 2004. Here he also served as sub-warden from 1988 to 1990 and as domestic bursar from 1989 to 1993. He also was a fellow of All Souls College in 1963-2004.
In 1982, from 1985 to 1986 and in 1993, Bryan Wilson was a visiting professor at University Louvain in Belgium. In 1987, he was a Distinguished visiting professor at the University of California in Santa Barbara.
Wilson’s interest in the sociological aspects of religion first gained attention with the publication of his "Sects and Society" in 1961. Among his other works are "Religion in Secular Society" that was written in 1966, "Magic and the Millennium" in 1973, "Religion in Sociological Perspective" in 1982, and "The Social Dimensions of Sectarianism" in 1990. His last work was "New Religious Movements: Challenge and Response" in 1999.
(Ranging through sectarianism, monotheism, religious exclu...)
1982(In this wide-ranging collection, Bryan Wilson explores th...)
1992(New Religious Movements: Challenge & Response is the most...)
1999(Rationality contains a selection of the best contemporary...)
1970(Fifty years ago Soka Gakkai was an organization of a few ...)
1994Bryan R. Wilson was a staunch proponent of the secularization theory, and since the 1960s became well-known for his claims that secularization was destined to be as prevalent in the United States as he thought it was in Western Europe. His many writings on the topic helped clarifying the issues and distinguishing between quantitative secularization (a decline in religious belief and church attendance) and qualitative secularization (a declining influence of religion on behaviour, culture, and politics). Wilson's work largely defined the agenda and the field where secularization theorists and their opponents crossed swords for more than forty years.
Wilson was also one of the most prominent academic champions of religious liberty in the 20th century. He defended new religious movements and other minorities against the various waves of international anti-cult campaigns, for no other personal reason than his passionate love for freedom and justice, since he defined himself as an atheist.
Bryan Wilson was a fellow of the British Academy and a member of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion, and Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.