Dr. Chris Bader is a professor of sociology and an affiliate for the Insitute for Studies on Religion at Baylor. He came to the university in 2002 and teaches courses in data sources and publishing as well as in deviant behavior. His primary research interests include the sociology of religion and criminology. Dr. Bader became interested in Baylor because of the robust programs in sociology of religion and finds the university's commitment to the scientific study of religion one of its best, most salient qualities.

Recent Publications

Kevin D. Dougherty, Christopher D. Bader, Paul Froese, Edward C. Polson, and Buster G. Smith. 2009. "Religious Diversity in a Conservative Baptist Congregation." Review of Religious Research, 50(3): pages 321-334.

F. Carson Mencken, Christopher Bader, Elizabeth Embry. 2009. "In God We Trust: Images Of God And Trust In The United States Among the Highly Religious." Sociological Perspectives, 52(1):23-38

F. Carson Mencken, Christopher D. Bader, and Rodney Stark. 2008. "Conventional Christina Beliefs and Experimentation With The Paranormal." Review of Religious Research. 50(2): 194-205.

Ulmer, Jeffrey T., Christopher D. Bader and Matha Gault. (2008). "Do Moral Communities Play a Role in Criminal Sentencing?" The Sociological Quarterly. 49(4): 737-768.

Jang, Sung Joon, Christopher D. Bader and Byron Johnson. (2008) "The Cumulative Advantage of Religiosity in Preventing Drug Use." Journal of Drug Issues. Vol. 38:771-798

Froese, Paul and Christopher Bader. (2008) "Unraveling Religious Worldviews: The Relationship Between Images of God and Political Ideology in a Cross-cultural Analysis." The Sociological Quarterly. 49(4): 689-718.

Froese, Paul, Christopher D. Bader and Buster Smith. (2008). "When Faith and Freedom Collide: Religion and Political Tolerance in the United States." Sociology of Religion 69(1).

Stark, Rodney and Christopher D. Bader. 2008. "Strict Churches: The Reasons for their Popularity," pp. 29-36 in What Americans Really Believe: New Findings from the Baylor Surveys of Religion. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.

Stark, Rodney, Christopher D. Bader and Paul Froese. 2008. "God: Love, Anger, and Commitment," pp. 75-78 in What Americans Really Believe: New Findings from the Baylor Surveys of Religion. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.

Stark, Rodney, Christopher D. Bader and F. Carson Mencken. 2008. "Credulity: Who Believes in Bigfoot," pp. 125-131 in What Americans Really Believe: New Findings from the Baylor Surveys of Religion. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.

Stark, Rodney, F. Carson Mencken and Christopher D. Bader. 2008. "New Age Adherents: Well-Educated, Formerly Irreligious Elites," pp. 133-140 in What Americans Really Believe: New Findings from the Baylor Surveys of Religion. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.

Bader, Christopher D., Paul Froese and F. Carson Mencken. (2007). "American Piety 2005: Content, Methods and Selected Results from the Baylor Religion Survey." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 46(4).

Froese, Paul, and Christopher D. Bader. "God in America: (2007). Why Theology is not Simply the Concern of Philosophers." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 46(4):465-481.

Bader, Christopher. (2007). " Alien Attraction: The Subculture of UFO Contactees and Abductees." Chapter in Extreme Deviance, edited by Erich Goode. California: Pine Forge Press.

Finke, Roger, Christopher D. Bader and Edward C. Polson. "A Growing Web of Resources: The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA). Review of Religious Research 49(1).

Bader, Christopher. (2007). "UFO Abduction Support Groups." Alien Worlds: The Sociological Study of UFO Religions, edited by Diana Tumminia. New York: Syracuse University Press.

Awards and Honors

Bader, Christopher and Paul Froese. "Images of God and Attitudes Towards Science: Findings from the Baylor Religion Survey, Wave 2." Brown Symposium, Southwestern University, February 5-6, 2009.

Bader, Christopher and F. Carson Mencken. "Religion and Volunteering." Presented at Religious Practice and Civic Life: What the Research Says (Child Trends, Heritage Foundation), October 7, 2007.

Outstanding Research Professor 2006. College of Arts & Sciences, Baylor University.

Distinguished Paper Award (2005). Southwestern Sociological Association. "Civic Engagement and County Economic Growth in Appalachia During the 1990s."

Distinguished Graduate Student Award (1998). Dept. of Sociology, University of Washington.