Peter L. Berger was a senior research fellow and Professor Emeritus of Religion, Sociology and Theology at Boston University. He also founded and served as the director of the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs at Boston College. He previously taught at the New School for Social Research, Rutgers University, and Boston College.
Dr. Berger wrote numerous books on sociological theory, the sociology of religion, and Third World development, which have been translated into dozens of foreign languages. His books include: Laughter: The Comic Dimension of Human Experience (1997); Modernity, Pluralism and the Crisis of Meaning (with Thomas Luckmann, 1995); The Capitalist Revolution: Fifty Propositions About Prosperity, Equality and Liberty (1988); and The War Over the Family: Capturing the Middle Ground (with Brigitte Berger, 1983). In 1992, Professor Berger was awarded the Mannes Sperber Prize, presented by the Austrian government for significant contributions to culture.
Professor Berger received his B.A. from Wagner College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research. He also held honorary degrees from Loyola University, Wagner College, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Geneva (Switzerland), and the University of Munich (Germany).