Good people of many persuasions wonder how a thinking person can still believe in God. Still others wonder whether a university, as an academic institution, is a place where "God" should be openly discussed at all. Often enough, such questions make presumptions about faith that are frequently untrue. Attention to the real fragility of faith can open spaces for different kinds of discussions entirely. 

Michael McCarthy, S.J. began his undergraduate career at Stanford University but then entered the Jesuits and received his B.A. from Santa Clara University in 1987, attended Oxford University to complete the 4-year M.A. in Literae Humaniores, received a Master's in Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley in 1997, and earned his Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2003. Currently, Fr. McCarthy serves as the Vice President Office of Mission Integration and Planning at Fordham University, a position he began in January 2016. From 2011-2015, He served as the Executive Director of Santa Clara University's Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education. Fr. McCarthy held the Edmund Campion, S.J. Professor endowed chair. He also was an associate professor with a joint appointment in the Religious Studies and Classics Departments as well as the Director of the Catholic Studies Program. His research focuses primarily on Early Christianity, including the concept of church in ancient Christianity, early biblical exegesis, Augustine, religious authority/belief in fourth and fifth centuries, early asceticism/spirituality.