Hello and welcome to matthewjcressler.com. Allow me to introduce myself – my name is Matthew and I am an assistant professor of religious studies at the College of Charleston (South Carolina). My teaching and research areas include African American religions, Catholic studies, religion in America, and theory in the study of religion, with a special interest in the intersection of religion, race, and nationalism. I specialize in Black Catholic history. My first book is titled Authentically Black and Truly Catholic: The Rise of Black Catholicism in the Great Migration (NYU Press, 2017). For more on my book and other current projects, check out my Research page.

I have taught courses on African American religions; Black Nationalism; religion in America; religion, race, and politics; nationalism; theories in the study of religion, and an introduction to “sacred and special stuff.” In years past, I’ve also taught on U.S. Catholics, conversion, riots and rebellions, and Islam. For more details on my teaching experience, check out my Teaching page.

You can find more of my musings on teaching, writing, and thinking on my Blog page. I recently co-reported on integration and segregation in American religion with Adelle M. Banks, courtesy a media partnership between Sacred Writes and Religion News Service. I’ve written for Slate.com. I’ve also been a regular contributor to the Religion in American History blog. I hope you enjoy the site and please feel free to contact me about any of the above via email (cresslermj@cofc.edu) or on Twitter (@mjcressler).