# Matthew Ichihashi Potts Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church ![Matthew Potts headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/2025-09/250212MatthewPotts2.jpg?h=ddefad3d&itok=4I4itMAc) email ## Education - BA, University of Notre Dame - MDiv, Harvard Divinity School - PhD, Harvard University ## Profile The Rev. Matthew Ichihashi Potts, MDiv '08, PhD '13, was appointed the Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church and the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals in 2021. Prior to his appointment, Matt served as Associate Professor of Religion and Literature and of Ministry Studies at [Harvard Divinity School](https://hds.harvard.edu/people/matthew-l-potts), where he also received tenure and promotion to full Professor in 2021. Matt earned his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, and both his M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard. He is the author of two books, *Cormac McCarthy and the Signs of Sacrament: Literature, Theology, and the Moral of Stories* (Bloomsbury, 2015) and *Forgiveness: An Alternative Account* (Yale University Press). He has also published scholarly essays in several leading journals and peer reviewed collections. He is a former member of the editorial board of the journal *Literature and Theology* and has held leadership roles with both the Conference on Christianity and Literature and the Arts, Literature, and Religion Unit of the American Academy of Religion. Full CV (PDF) below. ## Courses View [HDS courses taught by Matthew Ichihashi Potts](https://courses.my.harvard.edu/psp/courses/EMPLOYEE/EMPL/h/?tab=HU_CLASS_SEARCH&SearchReqJSON=%7B%22ExcludeBracketed%22:true,%22Exclude300%22:false,%22SaveRecent%22:true,%22Facets%22:%5B%5D,%22PageNumber%22:1,%22SortOrder%22:%5B%22SCORE%22%5D,%22TopN%22:%22%22,%22PageSize%22:%22%22,%22SearchText%22:%22(%20Matthew%20Potts%20)%20(ACAD_CAREER:%5C%22HDS%5C%22)%22%7D) in the my.harvard Course Search. Also view [FAS courses taught by Matthew Ichihashi Potts](https://courses.my.harvard.edu/psp/courses/EMPLOYEE/EMPL/h/?tab=HU_CLASS_SEARCH&SearchReqJSON=%7B%22PageNumber%22:1,%22PageSize%22:%22%22,%22SortOrder%22:%5B%22IS_SCL_SUBJ_CAT%22%5D,%22Facets%22:%5B%5D,%22Category%22:%22HU_SCL_SCHEDULED_BRACKETED_COURSES%22,%22SearchPropertiesInResults%22:true,%22FacetsInResults%22:true,%22SaveRecent%22:true,%22TopN%22:%22%22,%22SearchText%22:%22(IS_SCL_DESCR_IS_SCL_DESCRL:%5C%22Matthew%20Potts%5C%22)%20(ACAD_CAREER:%5C%22FAS%5C%22)%22%7D). (HDS students: for jointly offered and reading and research courses, please enroll in the HDS version of the course.) [All Harvard courses](https://courses.my.harvard.edu) ## Selected publications - [*Forgiveness: An Alternative Account*](https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300276824/forgiveness/) (Yale University Press, 2022) - [*Cormac McCarthy and the Signs of Sacrament: Literature, Theology, and the Moral of Stories*](https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/cormac-mccarthy-and-the-signs-of-sacrament-9781501306563/) (Bloomsbury Academic, 2015) ## Support To reach Harvard Divinity School's faculty coordinators, email [div-faculty\_coordinators@calists.harvard.edu](mailto:div-faculty_coordinators@calists.harvard.edu). For media inquiries or requests, please [contact Tyler Sprouse](mailto:tsprouse@hds.harvard.edu) in the Office of Communications. --- Attachments- [ picture\_as\_pdf potts CV latest\_0\_1.pdf ](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/2025-09/potts%20CV%20latest_0_1.pdf) --- - ## Affiliation [Faculty](/affiliation/faculty) - ## Alpha Grouping [P-T](/alpha-grouping/p-t) - ## Faculty Type [Executive Education](/faculty-type/executive-education) [Faculty of Divinity](/faculty-type/faculty-divinity)