George M. Marsden

With three books Marsden propelled the study of conservative Protestants to the center of American historical attention. His Fundamentalism and American Culture (1980) was once rated one of the two most significant religious histories of the 1970s and 1980s. His 1994 volume, The Soul of the American University, continues to focus scholarly debate on the place of religion in American intellectual life. From its publication in 2003, Marsden's Jonathan Edwards won immediate recognition as one of the most important biographies ever written for one of the most important Americans. His honors included the most distinguished awards for American historical scholarship (Bancroft Prize) and American religious scholarship (Grawemeyer Award).