This course will examine the beginnings of a people called Israel, as related in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Special attention will be given to the process of a social revolution in the Ancient Near East which gave rise to this people who entered into a covenant with their God Yahweh, a God whose worship mandated radical equality and social justice. (SLRS)
This course examines the person and message of Jesus of Nazareth, as recorded in the New Testament of the Bible. Special focus will be given as to how Jesus’ message continues the Old Testament tradition of the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom which creates a new world order based on radical equality and social justice. (SLRS)
A general introduction to the New Testament and overview of the historical, religious and cultural milieu in which these Scriptures originated. (SLRS)
This course examines the historical development together with the religious beliefs and practices of the major religions of the world including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism. The teachings of each religion regarding the Absolute, the world, the nature of humans, the problem facing humans, the solution of the problem for humans, Community and Ethics, Rituals and Symbols, and what happens after death will be studied. The course also includes an examination of the beginnings of religion in human history as well as the characteristics of tribal and national religions. (SLRS)
This course examines the historical development together with the religious beliefs and practices of the major religions of the world including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism. The teachings of each religion regarding the Absolute, the world, the nature of humans, the problem facing humans, the solution of the problem for humans, Community and Ethics, Rituals and Symbols, and what happens after death will be studied. The course also includes an examination of the beginnings of religion in human history as well as the characteristics of tribal and national religions. (SLRS)
This course will explore the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures as literary texts. Students will examine the language, images, and structures of selected books of the Bible. Various approaches to Biblical study will be utilized including form and source criticism, narrative analysis, genre analysis, and rhetorical analysis. Issues to be addressed include the variety of interpretative strategies, the choice of translations, narrative and characterization strategies, the influence of the Bible on Western Tradition. (SLRS SLLT)
An examination of the unfolding and growth of Christian thought in the Western world and analysis of the notion of theological development.
A survey of the principles of moral conduct based upon the writings of the New Testament and the teaching of the Catholic Church and of Contemporary Catholic moral theologians, topics include sin, human action, conscience and decision making.
An examination of the foundational elements of the Church's sacramental life from the perspectives of theology, history and anthropology beginning with a discussion of the lived experience of sacraments and developing various models which have guided sacramental praxis, with emphasis on the contemporary influences of symbol and ritual studies.
This course offers a general overview of the nature of Revelation, Faith, and the sources of Revelation, together with an overview of the more important doctrinal and moral teachings of the Catholic Church.
This course will help the student to see ethics as a personal response to the universal call to holiness and to the common good. Students will read an overview of the development of conscience and how free will responds and interacts with conscience in the decisions they make on a day-to day basis, and as the world makes decisions that affect the individual, the community, and the common good. They will examine their own decisions through discussion and writings on their readings, media, their peer interactions, and personal beliefs. The course will rely on the Scriptures, selected readings from theology, philosophy, psychology, contemporary writings, and Richard Gula's Moral Discernment.
This course will identify some of the characteristic features of the Bible's teaching on justice as one of the most frequently recurring topics in the Bible. Special attention will be given to how the life and teaching of Jesus follows the traditional teaching of the Hebrew Bible. The course will also compare the biblical teaching on social justice with The United Nations Millennial Declaration. (SLRS)
A systematic study of the beliefs of the church in the person of Jesus as reflected in Scripture and the early church councils and a survey of contemporary Christological teaching. (SLRS)
A survey of woman's place in society, past and present, as it has been and is affected by religious teachings, laws and customs and examination of the attitudes toward women in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, in the writing of the early church fathers, the Protestant Reformers, and in the current religious structures of Catholics, Protestants, and Jews. (SLRS)
The Church is both an institution and a community of people united in their belief that Jesus is the Savior of the World. This course examines the Church from a scriptural, historical and theological perspective.
A collection of courses covering a broad range of topics in religious studies, offered according to student need and interest. Life & Social Reality: This course, developed specifically for use on the La Roche Rome campus is designed to facilitate the exploration of the meaning of life and the nature of social reality, through critical-minded engagement on a variety of levels. It will include the experience of sharing in service learning opportunities, and in opportunities for spiritual experience through participation in reading and discussing common texts and reflecting upon media experiences with particular emphasis on economic justice and environmental sustainability. To be conducted as a seminar, students' input into the discussion will shape what happens in the course. We will especially reach for different and contradictory perspectives, challenging our sources through a process of "tearing apart" and/or defending and/or making creative use of them. All of the written and video/film sources used, as well as the experiences engaged in, and also the course itself, will be subjected to such a process of critique, out of which useful insights may emerge. Participants will work on the together - striving, at the same time, for independent perspectives (not some kind of conformist "group-think").
The independent study is intended to give an opportunity to students with superior ability to pursue an area of study in religious studies that is very specific in focus and/or not covered in existing offerings.