Carl Christian Hein was an influential American Lutheran clergyman.

Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, Hein moved to the United States in 1884. He was became pastor of a Lutheran church in Marion, Wisconsin

Marion, Wisconsin

Marion is a city in Shawano and Waupaca Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 1,297 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Marion is located at ....

 in 1889, and then moved to Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

 in 1891, where he became pastor of a church there. He moved again to Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

 in 1902, where he pastored a church there for twenty-three years.

In 1924 he was elected president of the Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio, that organization's last president. He became the first president of the American Lutheran Church

American Lutheran Church

The American Lutheran Church was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, the ALC designated Augsburg Publishing House , also located in Minneapolis, as the church publisher...

 in 1931, and held that position until his death. He opposed a suggested merger between the American Lutheran Church and the United Lutheran Church in America

United Lutheran Church in America

The United Lutheran Church in America was established in 1918 with the merger of three independent German-language synods: the General Synod , the General Council and the United Synod of the South . The Slovak Zion Synod joined the United Lutheran Church in America in 1920...

 due to his group's opposition to joining Masonic Lodge

Masonic Lodge

This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...

s, which the ULCA tolerated.