author

Allan Hoben

1874–1935

Best remembered for writing about youth work, church life, and citizenship, this early 20th-century author brought together practical ministry experience and academic training. His work speaks from a moment when religious leaders were trying to understand boys’ everyday lives and guide them with empathy as well as discipline.

1 Audiobook

The Minister and the Boy: A Handbook for Churchmen Engaged in Boys' Work

The Minister and the Boy: A Handbook for Churchmen Engaged in Boys' Work

by Allan Hoben

About the author

Allan Hoben (1874–1935) was an American religious writer and educator whose best-known book is The Minister and the Boy (1912). In that book’s front matter, he is identified as a Ph.D., an associate professor of practical theology at the University of Chicago, and a field secretary of the Chicago Juvenile Protective Association.

His writing focused on the moral, social, and religious development of young people, especially boys, and on the role churches could play in that work. Records in Project Gutenberg and Open Library also connect him with The Church School of Citizenship, suggesting a broader interest in character formation, civic life, and practical religious education.

Biographical details about his personal life are not easy to confirm from widely available sources, but archival records do confirm the dates 1874–1935. What remains clearest is the kind of author he was: a thoughtful Progressive Era voice trying to connect ministry, education, and everyday social concerns in a useful, readable way.