François Houtart (7 March 1925 – 6 June 2017) was a Belgian marxist sociologist and Catholic priest. He was born in Brussels, Belgium. He participated as a peritus expert in the sessions of Vatican II (1962–1965) playing a key role in the formation of the introduction of the "Gaudium et spes". Over the years, Houtart developed a dialectical approach to the study of world religions. He was a professor at the Université catholique de Louvain.