Graduate Studies
Melton pursued graduate studies at Northwestern University where he received his Ph.D. in the History and Literature of Religions in 1975. His doctoral dissertation surveyed some 800 religious groups known to exist in the United States at the time and led to the development of a classification system that has come to be widely used.
Melton recounts that "vocationally, the most influential force in my life was the writings of a man I never met but who became my hero, Elmer Talmage Clark ... while my contemporaries became enthused with UFO's, Elvis Presley, or Alabama football, during my last year in high school one of Clarke's books, The Small Sects in America, captured my imagination. After reading it I wanted to consume everything written on American alternative religions."
- Professional organizations
- American Academy of Religion
- American Society of Church History
- Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
Read more about this topic: J. Gordon Melton
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