Wolfgang Schluchter is a German sociologist and, as of 2006, professor emeritus at the University of Heidelberg. Schluchter is recognized as a leading sociologist of religion and an authority on the history of sociological theory, in particular on the work of Max Weber. He was visiting professor at several universities worldwide, including the University of Pittsburgh, the New School for Social Research, and the University of California at Berkeley. His research mainly focuses on sociological theory, religion sociology and comparative cultural study.

His works include Max Weber’s Vision of History. Ethics and Methods (1979), The Rise of Western Rationalism: Max Weber's Developmental History (1981), Rationalism, Religion, and Domination, A Weberian Perspective (1989), Paradoxes of Modernity. Culture and Conduct in the Theory of Max Weber (1996), Max Weber and Islam (1999), and Public Spheres and Collective Identities (2001).