University of Chicago Professor Emeritus Martin E. Marty, a leading theologian and religious historian, passed away on February 25 at the age of 97. Marty was a distinguished scholar known for his work on Protestantism and fundamentalism in the United States. His contributions have significantly shaped modern American religious studies.
Marty served as the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of the History of Modern Christianity at UChicago's Divinity School for 35 years. He is remembered by many as a groundbreaking scholar and devoted teacher who influenced generations through his academic discourse and mentorship.
Historian L. Benjamin Rolsky described Marty as “arguably the public intellectual of the 1980s.” Biographer Grant Wacker suggested that Marty deserved recognition alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Graham, and Jonathan Edwards on the “Mount Rushmore of American religious history.” Time magazine once referred to him as the “most influential interpreter of religion” in America.
Prof. James T. Robinson, dean of the Divinity School, remarked: “For 35 years, Martin Marty was a cornerstone of the Divinity School, shaping the study of religion and public life with his visionary scholarship and steadfast commitment to teaching.”
Beyond academia, Marty's influence extended into civil rights activism; he marched in Selma with Dr. King and served as a Protestant observer at Vatican II.
Born on February 5, 1928, in West Point, Nebraska, Marty studied at Concordia Seminary and Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary before earning his Ph.D. from UChicago’s Divinity School in 1956. His career included roles such as founding pastor at Elk Grove Village's Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit and associate editor for Christian Century.
During his tenure at UChicago starting in 1963, Marty authored over 50 books including "Righteous Empire," which won a National Book Award. He also co-directed an international project called "Fundamentalism Project" from 1988 to 1994 with R. Scott Appleby.
Appleby commented: “Only an intellectual giant with Marty's combination of multidisciplinary fluency and vast erudition could have foreseen...modern anti-pluralist assaults upon liberal worldviews.”
Marty retired in 1998 but continued contributing to discussions about religion through columns like those for Sightings newsletter.
He received numerous accolades including National Humanities Medal among others throughout his lifetime achievements; notably receiving Order Lincoln Religion award Illinois governor awarded him year retiring university named research center after him honor legacy continuing impact field religious studies today
Marty is survived by wife Harriet J Meyer children grandchildren great-grandchildren family members admirers campus memorial service planned future date honor memory contributions society