Theology and Religious Studies Major

Program Outcomes

The aim of the program is to foster and deepen an engaged, critical, and integrated understanding of the disciplines of Theology and Religious Studies within the University’s tradition of Jesuit liberal education.

Thematic Areas

1. Theology and Spiritualities
2. Scriptures and Religious Traditions
3. Religion, Society, and Ethics

The program will provide:

• an understanding of fundamental issues posed by the world’s religious and theological traditions:
• inquiry into the diverse forms and expressions of religious experience;
• emphasis on the Catholic Christian tradition as well as respectful engagement with other religious, theological, and philosophical traditions of the world.

Program Learning Outcomes

• Human Dimensions of Religion, Theology and Spirituality - Students will be able to understand their own spirituality and recognize how religion, theology, and spirituality underlie and correlate with a broad range of human experience.
• Religious Diversity - Students will be able to understand, differentiate, and appreciate various religious traditions, as encouraged by Vatican II’s stance on the Catholic Church’s relationship with other faiths. This understanding will entail the creedal vision, moral teachings, historical context, social expression, and key rites and symbols of these faith traditions.
• Social Justice - Students will investigate and discuss how religious and theological traditions can work effectively for social justice and for the good of the entire human family and the environment that sustains it.

Theology and Spiritualities

Courses in this area deal with three dimensions of “faith seeking understanding,” a phrase that has classically described theology as a discipline. Theology seeks to articulate the truth of faith and ethics (especially regarding the implications of faith in human life and activity). Spirituality (the practice and understanding of the faith experience) is closely related to Theology but may also be highly individualized and isolated from institutional religion.

Scriptures and Religious Traditions

Courses in this area focus on the sacred scriptures of the major religious traditions of the world such as Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Confucian, Hindu, and Muslim traditions. The courses examine the historical and cultural backgrounds of these texts and gauge the way that beliefs developed in ancient times.They also look at the ways ideas about these ancient texts have changed over time and influence people’s lives today.

Religion, Society, and Ethics

Religion, society, and ethics can be studied from the inside, in terms of its scriptures, beliefs, ethical and moral systems of thought as well as concrete practices, but also can be studied as a phenomenon constructive of whole communities and societies.The courses in this area invite students to see how religion informs the cultural, political, and ethical debates and issues of our day, as well as how it has worked historically to shape societies and confront moral challenges.