University of Virginia professor Jeffrey K. Hadden, an authority on religious trends and the Christian Right, died Sunday from pancreatic cancer. He was 66.
Hadden, a professor of sociology and religious studies, published about 25 books and researched such topics as the family, civil rights, race relations, urban studies and religion.
His acclaimed 1969 book "The Gathering Storm in Churches" was a study of Protestant clergy in the Civil Rights movement.
During the 1980s, Hadden studied religious broadcasters and the emergence of the Christian Right in America.
In the mid-1990s, he began work on a Web site for his course on new religious movements. The site has received attention for its comprehensive information on more than 150 religious movements.
His work promoted religious tolerance and freedom.