John Schmalzbauer

Associate Professor and Blanche Gorman Strong Chair in Protestant Studies               

Department of Religious Studies

Ph.D. 1997 Princeton University                                                

Email: jschmalzbauer@missouristate.edu

My teaching and research focus on the role of Protestantism in American society. I am especially interested in the role of religion in popular culture, Protestant evangelicalism, American Catholicism, and the place of religion in American higher education. In recent years, my courses have focused on religion in the Ozarks. I feel strongly that if Missouri State University does not take responsibility for telling the story of the Ozarks, nobody will. 

My book People of Faith: Religious Conviction in American Journalism and Higher Education (Cornell University Press) explores the role of religion in the careers of 40 prominent journalists and academics. I am currently writing a book on the return of religion on campus with historian Kathleen Mahoney. I am also co-investigator on the National Study of Campus Ministries. This project uses survey data and ethnographic observations to study campus ministers in six denominations, 88 church-related colleges, and two parachurch groups.

My reviews and commentary have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Books & Culture, and  Nieman Reports. I have also contributed to the Immanent Frame, the PBS NewsHour's Patchwork Nation, and Duke Divinity School's Call & Response.

I live in Nixa, Missouri with my spouse Susan and three boys. I came to Missouri State University after six enjoyable years at the College of the Holy Cross, a Jesuit and Catholic liberal arts college. I am a graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois where I first got interested in the study of American evangelicals. A native of Minnesota, I am glad to be back in the heartland.