Martin E. Marty (born 1928), a Lutheran pastor, historian of American religion, and commentator on contemporary religious life, wrote prolifically on American religion and culture. His work was noted for blending solid scholarship and popular, readable style.

Martin E. Marty was born on February 5, 1928, at West Point, Nebraska, into a family descended from Swiss immigrants. After graduating from Concordia High School in Milwaukee he earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Luther School of Theology in Chicago, and the University of Chicago, receiving a Ph.D. from the latter institution in 1956.

Contributed to Religious Field in Diverse Ways

His pastoral career began with ordination to the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod ministry in 1952. In 1957 he took up duties as founding pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, a position he held for six years. His founding of that church was innovative...