Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work & Criminal Justice

Varner Hall Room 518
371 Varner Drive
Rochester , MI 48309-4482
(location map)
(248) 370-2420
fax: (248) 370-4608
[email protected]

Social Work
Varner, Room 513
371 Varner Dr.
Rochester, MI 48309-4482
(248) 370-2371
[email protected]

Gary Shepherd

Title: Professor of Sociology
E-mail: [email protected]

Major Fields
Sociology of religion, new religious movements, Mormonism, The Family, The Church Universal and Triumphant and Social and Political Movements.  

Teaching Areas
Introduction to Sociology
Methods of Social Research
Self and Society
Sociology of Religion
Theories of Society and Culture

Representative Publications

  • "The Social Construction of Prophecy in The Family International," with Gordon Shepherd, Novo Religio, forthcoming, summer 2006.
  • "Accomodation and Reform in The Family/Children of God," with Gordon Shepherd, Novo Religio, 9,1:67-92, 2005.
  • “Liberal Tolerance Among Honors College Students: A Regional Comparison,” Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology, pages 101-114, vol. 92:2, December 2001.
  • Authors Meet Critics Session on Mormon Passage (published by University of Illinois Press, 1998), Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Columbus, OH, October, 2001.