Terry L. "TMatt" Mattingly (born January 31, 1954) is a journalist, author, and professor. As columnist for the

Scripps Howard News Service The E. W. Scripps Company, also known as Scripps, is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by E. W. Scripps, Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a ...

, Mattingly has written "On Religion", a nationally syndicated column, since the summer of 1988. Mattingly also ran a well-known religious journalism blog, ''GetReligion'' from 2004 to 2024. Mattingly was also Director of The Washington Journalism Center, a program run by the

Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) is an international organization of evangelical Christian colleges and universities. The headquarters is in Washington, D.C., United States. History In 1976, presidents of colleges in Chri ...

Early life and education

Mattingly was raised by a father who was a

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...

pastor. He was involved in Boy Scouts as a youth. Mattingly graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in

Port Arthur, Texas Port Arthur is a city in the state of Texas, United States of America, located east of metro Houston. Part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, the city lies primarily in Jefferson County, with a small extension in Orange County. ...

. He then attended

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

, where he graduated with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in journalism and American history in 1976. He then obtained an

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

in journalism in 1982 from the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

and a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in church-state studies from Baylor University in 1984.

Career

Mattingly's first major journalism job with the '' Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette''. As a staff writer and copy editor, he wrote Backbeat, a rock 'n' roll column. While writing Backbeat, one of Mattingly's subjects included a 1982 tour by U2. From 1982-1984, Mattingly worked for ''

The Charlotte News ''The Charlotte News'' was the afternoon newspaper in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was first published on December 8, 1888. The newspaper was eventually purchased on April 5, 1959 by Knight Newspapers, owner of its larger rival ''The Charlotte Ob ...

'' and later ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset ...

'', and from 1984–1990, he was a religion writer for the ''

Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. the Monday–Friday ...

'' in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. He taught at

Milligan College Milligan University is a private Christian university in Milligan College, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1866 as the Buffalo Male and Female Institute, and known as Milligan College from 1881 to May 2020, the school has a student populat ...

. Since 1988, Mattingly has been a religion columnist for On Religion at the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Mattingly founded a religious journalism blog, ''GetReligion'', in 2004.. As the current director of the Washington Journalism Center, Mattingly teaches journalism to students in Washington, D.C. Mattingly has a long association with Howard Ahmanson Jr. and his wife, Roberta, dating back to Roberta's tenure as a religion reporter for ''

The Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily List of newspapers in California, newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digit ...

'' in the late 1980s. Roberta was an original financial backer of GetReligion and Ahmanson has funded the Washington Journalism Center and the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life, which currently hosts the website. Mattingly's first book, released in 2005, was ''Pop Goes Religion: Faith in Popular Culture''. Mattingly announced the shutdown of new ''GetReligion'' coverage in February 2024.

Personal life

After leaving the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...

, the Christian body in which he was raised, Mattingly was for a time a member of Episcopal Church. He often refers to himself as a prodigal Texan. He is a practicing Orthodox Christian, a member of the

Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA), often referred to in North America as simply the Antiochian Archdiocese, is the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch in the United States and Canada. Origina ...

. Mattingly is a supporter of the

American Solidarity Party The American Solidarity Party (ASP) is an United States, American Christian democracy, Christian democratic List of political parties in the United States, political party. It was founded in 2011 and officially incorporated in 2016. The party ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mattingly, Terry 1954 births Living people 21st-century American non-fiction writers American Christian democrats American columnists American journalism academics American male bloggers American bloggers American religious writers Baylor University alumni Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Protestantism Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United States E. W. Scripps Company people Former Anglicans Former Baptists Journalists from Texas Members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch People from Port Arthur, Texas Religion journalists University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Media alumni