Subject: Religious Studies

Frosh students explore the complexity and depth of human experience from a Catholic perspective. Guided by the Catholic belief that people encounter Divine Mystery in and through relationship with the world and other people. Special focus will be on forming students to do a faith that does justice, exploring questions of inclusion, conscience, culture and identity. Toward this end, all students participate in the Frosh Retreat in the context of this course. The retreat includes a service project and reflection activities organized by the Campus Ministry Department. Finally, students will conclude the year examining the relational and sexual dimension of human experience, probing ancient wisdom for guidance in discerning how to live towards greater healing and liberation.

Sophomores wrestle with the same question Jesus asks his disciples “Who do you say that I am?” The confusion that ensues among his followers is emblematic of the struggle that Christians and non-Christians alike have had throughout history to answer that very question. In this course, students will be challenged to offer their own unique contributions to the discourse on the identity of Jesus. They will grapple directly with the question Jesus posed to his disciples by developing responses based on multiple and intersecting paradigms: the personal, the historical, the theological, and the anthropological to name just a few.

Juniors engage in the broad philosophical and theological discussions of good and evil, right and wrong, freedom and duty, in and beyond the practical moral decisions of everyday life. In response to the call to uphold and promote the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, students examine first Catholic tradition’s understandings of human dignity, informed conscience, and the virtues and principles that guide moral reasoning. The second semester explores Catholic tradition on social justice, social teaching, and the common good with a focus on environmental justice and racial equity.

Seniors choose two semester-long electives on subjects such as world religions, human sexuality, Ignatian spirituality, faith, film, and fiction, science and religion, sports and spirituality, community engagement, or ecological justice.