Mathew N. Schmalz

Let's debate the Gospel

Before addressing the question of Islam, maybe the former governor would benefit from revisiting the Gospel of Christ and considering what kind of Jesus he believes in. Maybe then the GOP can have a much needed debate about the nature of Christianity.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | February 24, 2011; 02:59 PM ET | Comments (3)

Conversion, murder and India's Supreme Court

Is conversion wrong? Is anger over conversion an extenuating circumstance for murder? In India, the answers are "yes and maybe"--at least according to a recent ruling by India's Supreme Court.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | January 28, 2011; 10:08 AM ET | Comments (11)

John Paul II and the suffering body

As his case moves toward sainthood, the outlines of John Paul's significance are becoming clear: he will be the saint of the suffering body.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | January 20, 2011; 11:08 AM ET | Comments (0)

Trivializing violence

Some contemporary political rhetoric can be quite combustible-- not because it celebrates the idea of insurrection, but because it trivializes the nature of violence itself. Sarah Palin's recent statement unintentionally makes this point quite clearly.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | January 13, 2011; 05:00 PM ET | Comments (6)

Ashura: (Photos) Suffering and the martyr Husayn

For me, as for many non-Muslims, Ashura serves as an important touchstone for any discussion of the religious meaning of suffering and self-surrender.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | December 15, 2010; 01:20 PM ET | Comments (7)

Woman, man, transsexual

It is significant that the Papal spokesperson included transsexuals along with women and men.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | November 23, 2010; 09:32 AM ET | Comments (1)

In defense of exorcism

I would defend exorcism not only as something therapeutically valuable, but rational--or at least no less rational than other beliefs that often pass for conventional wisdom.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | November 17, 2010; 01:34 PM ET | Comments (22)

Ignore the willfully ignorant

My advice to President Obama is not to hide his own respect for religious diversity from view, regardless of how that may be interpreted.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | November 9, 2010; 12:31 PM ET | Comments (9)

Diwali: out of darkness, light

Diwali is part of a number of festivals celebrated in many religions as winter approaches. It is a time to invoke blessings and bring light to the darkness.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | November 2, 2010; 10:56 AM ET | Comments (0)

The Duke 'thesis': Karen Owen's discovery

Maybe Karen Owen's real research discovery is how cyberspace has paradoxically revealed the combustible sacrality of sexuality precisely by making it all seem so casual.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | October 9, 2010; 03:45 PM ET | Comments (3)

Knowing differently

Since I am a professor of religious studies, my default position is always to emphasize the importance of religious literacy--after all, my livelihood depends on it. For me, the real issue is that there are different ways to "know religion."

By Mathew N. Schmalz | September 28, 2010; 03:58 PM ET | Comments (23)

Party/ religion/ sect/ cult

The Tea Party is beginning to resemble a "religion" because its diverse members are coming to embrace a vision of the Constitution and the United States as supernatural, inviolable entities.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | September 21, 2010; 07:57 AM ET | Comments (4)

Catholic humiliation in UK

The overall impression of the Pope's trip was humiliation. Benedict himself acknowledged this humiliation and did so in a surprising and compelling way.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | September 20, 2010; 04:27 PM ET | Comments (7)

Theological "perversions"

I think exploration of the whole notion of theological "perversions" is in order, especially with reference to the bigoted stereotypes applied to Glenn Beck's own denomination: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | August 30, 2010; 03:16 PM ET | Comments (8)

Tweeting Death

It is easy enough for opponents of capital punishment such as myself to point to Shurtleff's tweets as evidence of everything that is wrong with the death penalty. More to the point is that Shurtleff's tweets should also concern even those who believe that justice was done to Ronnie Lee Gardner.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | June 19, 2010; 10:41 AM ET | Comments (100)

Defending Lady Gaga

Madonna and Lady Gaga are joined at the hip, they're day and night, flip sides of the same coin--but I have to admit that I'm on Lady Gaga's side, provisionally.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | June 16, 2010; 02:16 PM ET | Comments (15)

Catholic views of animals

Ethical concern for animals has been on the ascendancy in Catholic thought for the last century.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | June 15, 2010; 11:54 PM ET | Comments (62)

The priesthood's dark valley

Benedict's latest remarks show his awareness of the extent of human frailty and of the absolute necessity of God's love and mercy.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | June 14, 2010; 09:40 AM ET | Comments (7)

Human and religious limitations

The Gulf oil spill will also reveal the limitations of our own ability to appreciate the complex and conflicted role of religion in our contemporary world.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | June 2, 2010; 09:16 AM ET | Comments (0)

Immigration, charity and national integrity

While my opposition to the Arizona law was visceral and immediate, I must admit that there is a common sense quality to the argument that there are laws regarding immigration which exist for a reason and should be enforced.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | May 25, 2010; 02:18 PM ET | Comments (3)

Imagining the Shroud of Turin

Good question: Is the Shroud of Turin proof of the resurrection? Better question: Why are people so interested in it anyway?

By Mathew N. Schmalz | April 12, 2010; 10:03 AM ET | Comments (26)

Chatter, inspiration and the pope

Anti-Catholicism most certainly does exist, but not in the way the Vatican seems to be emphasizing in its defense of the Holy Father. In fact, I would argue that the Vatican is unconsciously replicating some of the structural elements of anti-Catholicism in its criticism of the media.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | April 8, 2010; 02:06 PM ET | Comments (6)

Vatican chooses pragmatism over principle

While the actions of Lawrence Murphy were sinful and criminal, it is tragic that members of the Vatican hierarchy did not listen to their subordinates who belatedly recognized the gravity of the case.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | March 25, 2010; 03:11 PM ET | Comments (37)

A call to penance

The Holy Father's letter not only outlines a distinctively Catholic approach to sin and scandal but also suggests how the Pontiff's personal response to the crisis might unfold.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | March 20, 2010; 10:17 AM ET | Comments (26)

Bias against religious differences

The issue is not Christianity per se, but religions and religious commitments that seem different or challenging.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | January 11, 2010; 08:18 PM ET | Comments (3)

Blasphemy laws: A dangerous anachronism

Anachronistic blasphemy laws dangerously combine sacred and secular power. Certainly, the "right to offend" should not be exercised lightly. But it is also important for religious people to consider what really is at risk, both spiritually and politically, when they assert that their own "right to take offense" should outweigh all other social or legal concerns.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | January 4, 2010; 06:42 PM ET | Comments (0)

Swiss vote ill-advised and offensive

The goal behind the minaret ban seems to be to avoid discussion entirely in a reactionary effort to marginalize Muslims.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | November 30, 2009; 07:28 PM ET | Comments (1)

Bishops should proceed with caution

U. S. Catholic Bishops and other religious leaders are justified in their involvement in congressional discussions of health care reform. But they should proceed with caution.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | November 17, 2009; 09:19 PM ET | Comments (1)

The divisiveness of Christian unity

Pope Benedict's bold move to embrace disaffected Anglicans paradoxically opens a path for Christian unity while also reemphasizing the doctrinal difficulties in bringing Christian denominations closer together.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | October 21, 2009; 08:53 AM ET | Comments (6)

Crime is Crime is Crime. Not.

It is most helpful to see hate crimes legislation as a reflection of changing social boundaries and mores. For this reason, the debate should be joined over more substantive consideration of which ethical or ideological system is most appropriate for the society we wish to create and protect.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | October 19, 2009; 07:36 PM ET | Comments (0)

Catholic Arachnophobia

How to describe my discomfort at seeing viral videos of a spider crawling across Pope Benedict's cassock.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | October 1, 2009; 06:21 PM ET | Comments (9)

A Seamless Garment

Nuclear disarmament is a clear moral imperative and we should pray for it. I would argue that prayer is in fact more effective than UN Security Council resolutions that amount to nothing more than a moralizing patina created by the corrosive dynamics of international politics.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | September 29, 2009; 03:22 PM ET | Comments (0)

Texas Should Start Over

The Texas Board of Education should start over. It could begin by replacing consultants who are overly enamored with "emphasizing the roles of the Bible, Christianity, and the civic virtue of religion."

By Mathew N. Schmalz | September 1, 2009; 09:46 AM ET | Comments (2)

The Limit of Mercy

The limit of mercy is the limit of faith.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | August 25, 2009; 12:53 PM ET | Comments (2)

Tweeting Gods

A tweeting God? In cyberspace things aren't necessary what they appear to be

By Mathew N. Schmalz | August 11, 2009; 12:56 PM ET | Comments (4)

Carter's Fundamentalism

Carter has a fundamentalism of his own. As I read his letter, it strikes me that Carter still wishes to affirm the inviolability of scripture.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | July 20, 2009; 06:08 PM ET | Comments (30)

Calcutta Calling New York City

If Mayor Bloomberg would exchange places with his counter-part in Calcutta, he'd probably reconsider his position.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | July 8, 2009; 12:48 PM ET | Comments (7)

The Wages of Pandering

The difference between penitence and pandering is reflected in the acknowledgment that letting go is not the same as running away.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | July 1, 2009; 12:34 PM ET | Comments (3)

The Veil in Context

If Western civil societies seek to affirm religious liberty and self-expression, there can be a place for the veil for those Muslim women who feel religiously or personally inclined to wear it.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | June 25, 2009; 10:41 AM ET | Comments (1)

In Defense of Celibacy

Celibacy is an admission of our own human limitations, of our own very human need for a continuity and completeness that only God can give.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | May 14, 2009; 10:34 PM ET | Comments (6)

Obama's Post-Modernism

The President's proclamation of a National Day of Prayer, without a White House function, reflects the tensions and inconsistencies of our age. But it is better to recognize those tensions and inconsistencies than it is to repress them through the exercise of power.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | May 6, 2009; 01:19 PM ET | Comments (7)

A Papal Cry of Pain

The personal quality of the Pope's apology is stunning, and a broad call for tolerance and reconciliation.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | April 7, 2009; 08:46 AM ET | Comments (8)

Cults or Alternative Religions?

Making a distinction between a "cult" and a "religion" does nothing to help us to respond to the death of Javon Thompson or to understand One Mind Ministries. .

By Mathew N. Schmalz | March 31, 2009; 05:33 PM ET | Comments (9)

The Devil's Greatest Trick

I always thought that we should abandon the concept of Satan entirely: no Devil, no devil-making. Then I got the point: Devil's greatest trick is that you're damned if you believe in him and damned if you don't.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | March 24, 2009; 01:01 PM ET | Comments (3)

Faith, Fashion, and Fabric

Some observe that religious taste has become fashion--changeable according to the season or to the whims of personal taste. Others argue that lack of fashion sense is the problem, especially given the drab social garb preferred by many Protestant and Catholic denominations.

By Mathew N. Schmalz | March 17, 2009; 12:23 PM ET | Comments (0)

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