American ecclesiastic, a Roman Catholic priest, sociologist, educator and writer, the author of more than 30 best-selling novels, in addition to scores of other books and hundreds of articles. He is professor of social science at the University of Chicago and the University of Arizona, as well as research associate at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. His current sociological research centers on the celibacy of priests, ordination of women, religious imagination, and sexual behaviors of Catholics.
The only son in a family of three children of a corporate executive and his wife, Greeley attended school in Chicago, and after graduating in 1947, entered St. Mary of the Lake Seminary where he earned his B.A. degree in 1950, his Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1952, and his Lector of Sacred Theology degree in 1954. He always wanted to enter the priesthood and was ordained 5/05/1954. He served as a pastor to 1963, a devoted and dedicated man.
He became a parish priest in Chicago and served as the Director of the Center for the Study of American Pluralism of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, 1954-63, and Professor of Higher Education at the University of Illinois.
His earliest book focused on concern for young people: “Strangers in the House: Catholic Youth in America” was published in 1961. He was awarded an M.A. degree in sociology in 1961 from the University of Chicago and received his Ph.D. in 1962. He joined the staff of the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, and served as its senior study director from April 1962 to April 1968, when he became program director in high education. He has authored many articles and reports on education based largely on studies conducted at NORC. He became a professor of higher education at the University of Illinois in 1969.
In the spring of 1971, Greeley and colleagues at NORC published a two-year comprehensive survey of the priesthood for the American Roman Catholic Bishops. The report displeased many of the bishops and efforts were made to discredit his study. In March 1972, he published “Priests in the United States: Reflection on a Survey” to clarify misinterpretations of his research. He identified a collapse of credibility and confidence in the church among priests.
Greeley has written syndicated columns, and been associate editor of the “Review of Religious Research.” He has served on a large number of committees and board of advisers dealing with student issues. In 1967, St. Joseph’s College awarded him an honorary LL.D. degree and St. Mary’s College awarded him an honorary Litt.D. He won the Thomas Alva Edison Award for radio broadcasts in 1963 and the Catholic Press Association Award for the best book for young people in 1965. He has also won the prestigious Freedom to Read award from the Friends of the Chicago Public Library in 1989 and additional honorary doctorates from Bowling Green University, 1988, St. Louis University, 1991 and Northern Michigan University, 1993.
In 1986, he established a $1 million Catholic Inner-City School Fund, providing scholarships to Chicago schools with a minority student body of more than 50 percent.
He is a columnist for the Chicago Sun Times, and his novels include best-sellers “The Cardinal Virtues,” 1990; “Angel Fire,” 1988, and “The Bishop and the Three Kings,” 1998. He kept adding steadily to his bibliography of books, prolifically turning out novels that are considered by some to be more profane than inspirational, that deal with issues of trust and faith, sex and betrayal. His work also includes “Thy Brother’s Wife,” “The Cardinal Sins,” and “Confessions of a Parish Priest.”
Link to Wikipedia biography