Martin Marty, a theologian specializing in American religion, spoke to a full auditorium about the differences between Eastern and Western Christianity Monday in Altgeld Hall.

Born in West Point, Neb., Marty was ordained into the ministry in 1952 and served for a decade as a Lutheran parish pastor before joining the University of Chicago faculty in 1963.

“I find the world so odd that I wanted to find how it got that way,” Marty said of his reason for studying history.

The speech marked the first time Altgeld’s auditorium was full since NIU President John Peters re-opened the castle and gave his State of The University address Thursday.

Marty is a prominent theologian and the speech was a great opportunity to have someone open the W. Bruce Lincoln Endowed Lecture Series, Peters said.

In his speech, Marty compared and described the changes in Christianity between the East and the West. Christian churches have changed and adopted new concepts about every 200 years, Marty said.

It may not be too long before all Christian churches will be more comfortable with the idea of homosexual ministers, Marty said.

Now, even the word of the Catholic pope does not weigh as heavily as it once did on people’s choices, Marty said.

When Catholic women were asked about birth control, 82 percent of them in America were against the pope’s opposition to its use, Marty said.

Changes in other religions are happening alongside those in Christianity, Marty said.

In 1950, every seventh person in the world was Muslim; now every fifth person is.

“It is an awesome growth,” Marty said.

He also talked about the growth of Protestantism in Latin America and Africa, while the number of Christians in America has remained about the same.

Lutherans in Africa may even outnumber those in the United States, Marty said.

One student who listened to Marty’s hour-long speech said he learned about life.

“I was immersed in his world, but I did not follow everything he bounced around on,” said James Gregory, a junior professional physics major. “But I thought that I was able to see a bigger picture of life and learn more.”