Matthew J. Burger

Biography

Dr. Matthew J. Burger is an assistant professor of political science.  He received his Ph.D. in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland in 2020 and then served as Visiting Assistant Professor in the Government, Law, and National Security Program at Misericordia University.  In 2023, he joined the Department of Political Science and Public Policy at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.  Professor Burger’s experience includes tenure as a researcher with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism from 2010-2017 and The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Department of National Security Analysis as well as work in both United States federal and Maryland state governments.

Dr. Burger has published research on topics including the casual relationship between secularization, increasing pluralism, and rising political polarization; racial/ethnic as well as religious identity-based politics; the origins, nature, and democratic implications of the culture war and populist politics; the role of elite activists in mobilizing identity-based movements; and identity-based political extremism.  His current research examines the relationship of ethnic/racial and religious identities on political polarization in the United States, including patterns of legal activism around religious liberty, reproductive rights, sexuality, education and speech together with the impact of such polarization on the vitality of democratic institutions as well as our democratic and pluralistic society.

A native of western Maryland, he has spent most of his life in one part or another of the Old Line State.  This includes his own undergraduate years at a small liberal arts college under the tutelage of the venerable professor of American politics Dr. Herb Smith, who inspired Professor Burger’s love for teaching and now serves as his model for what good teaching looks like.  Accordingly, Professor Burger endeavors to help his students recognize and critically evaluate their presuppositions; temper their impassioned assertions with evidence; foster class discussions that are both lively and constructive; kindle and nurture intellectual curiosity, creativity, and independence; and care sincerely about his student’s well-being and academic success.

Beyond discussing the mysteries of politics, culture, life and the universe with students, Professor Burger enjoys hiking with his family, watching horror movies, reading Ernest Hemingway or Joseph Conrad, and completing his quest to visit every presidential birthplace, home, and grave across the United States.