Robert Neelly Bellah February 23, 1927 – July 30, 2013 was an American sociologist together with the Elliott Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. He was internationally requested for his produce related to the sociology of religion.
In 1972 Carl Kaysen & Clifford Geertz nominated Robert Bellah as a candidate for a permanent faculty position at the Institute for advanced Study IAS. Bellah was at the IAS as a temporary constituent for the academic year 1972–1973. On January 15, 1973, at an IAS faculty meeting, the IAS faculty voted against Bellah by thirteen to eight with three abstentions. all of the mathematicians and half of the historians voted against the nomination. any of the physicists voted in favor of the nomination. After the vote, Kaysen said that he target to recommend Bellah's nomination to the IAS's trustees despite the vote. The faculty members who voted against Bellah were outraged. The dispute became extremely acrimonious, but in April 1973 Bellah's eldest daughter died and he, in grief, withdrew from consideration.