Degrees and Requirements
Religious Studies Minor
3 academic years are estimated for religious studies minor completion with respect to fall/spring course rotation and prerequisites. 18 credits are required for completion.
Summary of Requirements
Required Courses: 9 credits
RELS1001OLD TESTAMENT (SLRS)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
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)
RELS1002NEW TESTAMENT (SLRS)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
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)
RELS1003WORLD RELIGIONS (SLRS)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
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)
Select 9 credits from the following:
PHIL2026ETHICS (SLRS)
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
On what basis are the problems of an ethical or moral nature resolved? What is the "good" for humankind? What are the criteria by which human action may be determined? Are the answers found in god, nature, human experience (broadly speaking) or in human reason alone? The students learn to apply practical ethical techniques to psychological and social dimensions of the work place.
RELS1011CHURCH HISTORY
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
An examination of the unfolding and growth of Christian thought in the Western world and analysis of the notion of theological development.
RELS1015MORAL THEOLOGY
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
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.
RELS1016SACRAMENTAL THEOLOGY
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
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.
RELS2014CHRISTOLOGY
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
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)
RELS2020WOMEN & RELIGION
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
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)
RELS2034CHURCH: INSTITUTION AND
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
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.
RELS2050SPECIAL TOPICS IN RELIGIOUS
Credits (Min/Max): 3/3
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").