ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with insights from Hans Mol garnered from a recent interview with him and to provides a window on the problems and possibilities of combining pastoral and academic sociology roles. Sociologist-Priest seems that many scholars have been clerics or have had clerical forbears. Hans Mol lived an integrated life combining being an active pastor and a productive sociologist. For Hans, the intersection of religion and sociology began in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The conflict between these perspectives on the relation of religious commitment and science persists today. Many European and British universities, for instance, have highly respected departments of theology. The study of religions, 'The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion', 'The Association for the Sociology of Religion', 'The Religious Research Association', along with Psychology of Religion groups and then international associations such as the International Society for the Sociology of Religions.
