Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg (born Oct. 20, 1802, Prussia [Germany]—died May 28, 1869, Berlin) was a German theologian who defended Lutheran orthodoxy against the rationalism pervading the Protestant churches and particularly the theological faculties of his day.

Hengstenberg studied at Bonn and at Berlin where he was professor of theology most of his life. In 1827 he founded the Evangelische Kirchen-Zeitung (“Protestant Church Newspaper”), which he edited for more than 40 years. This journal campaigned against the “unbelief” and indifference of the state churches, extolled the Lutheran doctrine as defined during the Reformation, and served as a rallying point for conservatism, both theological and political.