William Martin is the Harry and Hazel Chavanne Professor of Religion and Public Policy in the Department of Sociology and Senior Scholar in the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, where he has taught since 1969. He received the B.A. and M.A. degrees from Abilene Christian University in 1958 and 1960. He graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 1963 and received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1969. During his years at Rice, he has received numerous teaching awards, including a Lifetime Award for Excellence in Teaching. His articles, most dealing with various aspects of religion and popular culture, have appeared in such publications as The Atlantic, Harper's, Esquire, and Texas Monthly, as well as in scholarly journals. His book, A Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story, was published by William Morrow in 1991. Another book, My Prostate and Me: Dealing with Prostate Cancer, was published in September 1994 by Cadell and Davies. He is a frequent guest on national and local news and discussion programs. His most recent book, With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America, published by Broadway Books in September 1996, is the companion volume to a six-hour documentary mini-series of the same name, which aired during the fall of 1996.

At present, Bill Martin teaches Introductory Sociology, Criminology, Sociology of Religion, and Fundamentalism.

Contact Information:

wcm@rice.edu or wcm@wmartin.com

Office Telephone: 713-517-4831
Office Fax: 713-285-5296

Mailing Address:

Department of Sociology
Rice University--MS 28
6100 South Main
Houston TX 77005