Martyn Percy
Short Bio
Martyn Percy is Professor of Religion and Culture in the Faculty of Theology, and also part of the Xavier Centre for Memory and Identity). He is Honorary Provost Theologian at Ming Hua Theological College, Hong Kong, Senior Research Associate at the James Hutton Institute (Aberdeen, UK) and a Professor of Theology at Institut für Christkatholische Theologie (Faculty of Theology), University of Bern, Switzerland.
Martyn was Principal of Cuddesdon from 2004-2014, and then served as Dean of Christ Church Oxford (i.e., the Head of the College and Cathedral) until 2022. From 2023-24 he was Dean's Distinguished Scholar at Virginia Theological Seminary. Martyn's research and writing spans various disciplines, including theology, religion, education, cultural theory, anthropology, and sociology. He has taught at Oxford’s Saïd Business School, working on moral and social values in public life. His work in contextual theology and ecclesiology pays particular attention to the identity, performance, and development of churches and denominations in the 21st century.
With the Faculty of Theology (USJ) and its Xavier Centre for Memory and Identity, he undertakes PhD supervision for Southeast and East Asian students, working in research on ecclesiology and ecumenism. At the James Hutton Institute (Aberdeen, UK), his work focuses on religious responses to climate change, ecology, sustainability, and local and global challenges of the 21st century. In addition to his scholarly output, he also writes, preaches, and teaches on Christian spirituality. His sermons and meditations are published globally (several volumes with Canterbury Press), and his homilies and reflections have appeared in the UK secular press for over thirty years. He also contributes to Prospect Magazine, The Guardian, and The Times.
Martyn's professional contributions extend well beyond academia. He has held numerous roles in public life, demonstrating his ability to contribute to a variety of spheres These roles include Director of the Advertising Standards Authority, Adjudicator for the Portman Group (the self-regulating body for the alcoholic drinks industry), Commissioner of the Direct Marketing Authority, and Advisor to the British Board of Film Classification. His diverse expertise is further demonstrated by his role as a Home Office-approved advisor for ethical screening in research science, Chair of the University of Oxford’s Committee for Reviewing Donors (2017-2021), and Panel Assessor for Social Services in adoption and fostering.
Martyn holds a unique distinction in the theological world, being the only living theologian to be featured in Dan Brown’s 2003 The Da Vinci Code. This intriguing fact and other notable achievements led Theology Journal to describe him as “the British Theologian closest to being a missionary anthropologist”. His writings have been the subject of an academic study, Reasonable Radical: Reading the Writings of Martyn Percy (Pickwick Publishing: Edited by Ian Markham & Joshua Daniels, 2016).
Publications
PUBLICATIONS
Editorships and Editorial Boards of Journals:
· Editor of Modern Believing (1998-2004) [Editor].
· Editorial Board, Journal of Contemporary Religion (1997-2004 & 2015 onwards).
· Political Theology (1997-2003).
· Journal of Anglican Studies (2009 onwards).
· Journal for the Study of Spirituality (since 2010).
· Cels’ [The Latvian Journal of Theological Education] (2017 onwards).
· Guest Editor, Journal of Anglican Studies (CUP) on governance and leadership.
Forthcoming Publications:
2026 The Stature of Liberty: Transforming Religion and Society in the 21st Century, State University of New York Press (SUNY).
2026 Faith and Implicit Religion, James Clarke & Co..
2026 Forgiveness: A Beginners Guide (with Anthony Bash), Bloomsbury.
2027 The Pilgrim Church: Returning to the Journey of Faith, Canterbury Press.
Authored Books:
1996 Words, Wonders and Power: Understanding Contemporary Christian Fundamentalism and Revivalism, London: SPCK [pb].
1996 The Sociology of Exchange in the Toronto Blessing, Oxford: Latimer House [pb].
1998 Power and the Church: Ecclesiology in an Age of Transition, London: Cassell [hb & pb].
2002 Salt of the Earth: Religious Resilience in a Secular Age, Sheffield Academic Press and Edinburgh: T&T Clark [hb & pb] (*Reissued in Bloomsbury Academic Collection, 2016).
2005 Engaging with Contemporary Culture: Christianity, Theology and the Concrete Church, Ashgate [hb & pb] *(Reprinted Routledge, 2016).
2006 Clergy: The Origin of Species, Bloomsbury & T&T Clark International [hb & pb].
2010 Shaping the Church: The Promise of Implicit Theology, Ashgate [hb & pb].
2012 The Ecclesial Canopy: Faith, Hope, Charity, Ashgate [hb & pb].
2013 Anglicanism: Confidence, Commitment, Communion, Ashgate [hb & pb]; (re-published by Routledge, 2016).
2013 Thirty-Nine New Articles: An Anglican Landscape of Faith, Canterbury-SCM [pb].
2017 The Future Shapes of Anglicanism: Charts, Currents, Contours, Routledge, [hb & pb].
2021 The Humble Church: Renewing the Body of Christ, Canterbury-SCM [pb].
2022 Others: A Very Short Book About Beliefs, John Hunt Publications [pb].
2023 The Precarious Church: Redeeming the Body of Christ, Canterbury-SCM [pb].
2023 An Advent Manifesto, Oxford: BRF Publications [pb] * (Chinese edition, 2025).
2025 Samuel Seabury and the Episcopal Church, Church Publishing, New York [hb].
2025 The Cost of Living: The Currency of the Kingdom, BRF [pb].
2025 The Secular Church: Reckoning with Faith in Exile, Canterbury Press [pb].
2025 The Crisis of Colonial Anglicanism: Empire, Slavery and Revolt in the Church of England, Hurst Publishing with OUP, USA [hb].
2025 The Stature of Liberty: Transforming Religion and Society, State University of New York (SUNY Publishing), [hb and pb].
Co-Authored Books and Edited:
1997 Intimate Affairs: Spirituality and Sexuality in Perspective, Darton, Longman & Todd.
1999 Richard Hooker: An Introduction, London: Darton, Longman & Todd.
2000 Previous Convictions: Studies in Religious Conversion, London: SPCK.
2000 Managing the Church? Order and Organisation in a Secular Age, (with G.R. Evans), Sheffield Academic Press/T&T Clark International.
2000 Calling Time: Religion, Society and Change at the Turn of the Millennium, Sheffield Academic Press/T&T Clark (*Reissued in Bloomsbury Academic Collection, 2016).
2001 Restoring the Image: Essays in Honour of David Martin (with A. Walker), Sheffield Academic Press/T&T Clark International.
2002 Fundamentalism, Church and Society, (with I. Jones), SPCK.
2004 The Character of Wisdom: Essays for Wesley Carr (with S. Lowe), Ashgate.
2005 Why Liberal Churches Are Growing, (with I. Markham), T&T Clark.
2008 Evaluating Fresh Expressions, (with L. Nelstrop), SCM-Canterbury Press.
2010 Christ and Culture: Essays After Lambeth, (with I. Markham et al), Canterbury Press.
2010 Transfiguring Episcope: Women, Church, Leadership, (with C. Rees), Canterbury Press.
2012 A Point of Balance, (with R. Slocum), Morehouse (USA) and Canterbury Press (UK).
2014 The Wisdom of the Spirit: Gospel, Church & Culture, (with Peter Ward), Ashgate.
2015 The Curate’s Survival Guide (with Matthew Caminer & Beau Stevenson), SPCK.
2015 Oxford Handbook of Anglican Studies, (with Mark Chapman), OUP (pb ed. 2018).
2017 Clergy, Culture and Ministry: The Dynamics of Roles and Relations in Church and Society, by Ian Tomlinson, SCM-Research Press (ed. M. Percy).
2019 The SPCK Handbook of the Study of Ministry, (eds. with I. Markham & E. Percy), SPCK.
2021 Fearful Times, Living Faith (eds. M. Percy & R. Slocum), Wipf & Stock Publishers.
2022 The Blackwell Companion to Religion and Peace (eds. M. Percy, J. Mitchell, F. Po).
2023 Faiths Lost and Found: Understanding Apostasy (eds. M. Percy & C. Foster), DLT.5
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