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Undergraduate Catalog 2021-2022



Religious Studies (BA)

Description

The study of religion is an important branch of the humanities and an essential component in any well-grounded program of higher education. It is crucial for the understanding of any culture, and it deals with serious issues for the self-understanding of students of any age. Áù¾ÅÉ«ÌÃ's Department of Religious Studies offers programs designed to explore the variety of religious meanings that human beings have expressed in the past as well as those that continue to be expressed in the present.

Because of its roots in the Catholic tradition, this department offers a wide variety of courses on Christian themes and developments, while also offering students broad exposure to other traditions, such as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. Hoping to be a place where the best in contemporary Catholic thinking can encounter and exist in dialogue with other sources of contemporary thinking, the University regards the Department of Religious Studies as a special focus of this encounter.

The curriculum for a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Religious Studies is designed to serve three purposes: (1) to provide introductory and survey courses in the study of religion that will be valuable for all undergraduates and available in all time slots; (2) to provide a major for students wishing to concentrate in the study of religion; and (3) to provide a program leading to the master's degree for students wishing to engage in advanced studies.

Degree Requirements

To obtain this undergraduate degree, the student must fulfill the requirements of the University Core Curriculum, the requirements for the program major and have completed a minimum of 120 credit hours.

Religious Studies Major (30 credits)

Religious Studies majors, and students who choose Religious Studies as a secondary area of concentration, are required to earn 30 credit hours in the field. Half of these credits must be earned in upper level courses (3000/4000 level).

To encourage a wide encounter with the varieties of religious expression, a student must take at least one course in each of the five areas into which Religious Studies is divided: world religions (other than Christianity), Biblical studies, Christian theology and spirituality, contemporary issues in religion and ethics. A representative selection of courses in these areas will be offered days and evenings.

Near the end of their senior year, majors are also required to submit a portfolio of exams and papers which, in their judgment, give evidence of their knowledge of the field, their skills of research and expression and their personal appropriation of the materials they have covered. No additional grades are given for the portfolios. Their purpose is to assist the department in advising students and assessing the overall effectiveness of the program.

World Religions (Must take one course.)

Biblical Studies (Must take one course.)

  • RELS 2200 Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) (3 credits)
  • RELS 2230 Prophets and Visionaries (3 credits)
  • RELS 2240 Jesus and Gospels (3 credits)
  • RELS 2245 Introduction to the New Testament (3 credits)
  • RELS 2290 The Bible as Religious Literature (3 credits)
  • RELS 3220 Wisdom Literature (3 credits)
  • RELS 3240 Feminist Biblical Interpretation (3 credits)
  • RELS 4220 Torah and Historical Writings (3 credits)
  • RELS 4230 Prophets, Wisdom and Apocalyptic (3 credits)
  • RELS 4240 The Four Gospels (3 credits)

Christian Theology and Spirituality (Must take one course.)

  • RELS 2000 / CAS 2000 Catholicism: Spirit and Methods (3 credits)
  • RELS 2150 The Rise of Christianity (3 credits) / CAS 2150 Rise of Christianity (3 credits)
  • RELS 2160 Reformation Era (3 credits)
  • RELS 2240 Jesus and Gospels (3 credits)
  • RELS 2300 Catholic Theology Today (3 credits) / CAS 2300 Roman Catholic Theology Since Vatican II (3 credits)
  • RELS 2310 Introduction to Theology (3 credits)
  • RELS 2340 Introduction to Christian Ethics (3 credits)
  • RELS 2350 Christ in Faith Fiction and Film (3 credits)
  • RELS 2440 Love and Sexuality in Modern Christian Thought (3 credits)
  • RELS 2500 / CAS 2500 The Quest for God Today (3 credits)
  • RELS 2510 Theology and Literature (3 credits)
  • RELS 2550 Theology of Christian Marriage (3 credits)
  • RELS 2560 / CAS 2560 God and The Human Condition (3 credits)
  • RELS 3310 The Christian God (3 credits)
  • RELS 3340 Theology of Death and Resurrection (3 credits)
  • RELS 3530 Dynamics of Spiritual Growth (3 credits)
  • RELS 3550 Poets, Mystics and God (3 credits)
  • RELS 3570 Spiritual Autobiographies (3 credits)
  • RELS 3580 Theology of the Imagination (3 credits)
  • RELS 3755 On the Divine (3 credits)
  • RELS 4320 Classical and Contemporary Catholicism (3 credits)
  • RELS 4440 Sexuality and Love in Contemporary Christian Thought (3 credits)

Contemporary Issues in Religion (Must take one course.)

  • RELS 2140 Women and Religion (3 credits)
  • RELS 2170 Religion in the United States of America (3 credits)
  • RELS 2360 Religion and Film (3 credits)
  • RELS 2420 / CAS 2420 Religion and Science in the West (3 credits)
  • RELS 2490 Violence, Nonviolence and Religion (3 credits)
  • RELS 3000 Philosophy of Religion (3 credits)
  • RELS 3500 Religion and Psychology (3 credits) / PYC 3500 Psychology of Religion (3 credits)
  • RELS 3590 Religion, Health and Healing (3 credits)
  • RELS 3610 Religions and Sci-Fi (3 credits)
  • RELS 4132 Religions and Global Wellbeing (3 credits)
  • RELS 4140 Gender and Religion (3 credits)
  • RELS 4141 Gender in Asian Traditions (3 credits)

Ethics (Must take one course.)

  • RELS 2340 Introduction to Christian Ethics (3 credits)
  • RELS 2400 / CAS 2400 Social Ethics (3 credits)
  • RELS 2450 Class, Race and Gender (3 credits)
  • RELS 3390 Ecology and Justice (3 credits)
  • RELS 3430 Ethics and Economic Theories (3 credits)
  • RELS 3470 Catholic Social Thought (3 credits) / CAS 3470 Christian Social Thought (3 credits)
  • RELS 3480 / CAS 3480 Justice: Contemporary Issues and Theories (3 credits)
  • RELS 4132 Religions and Global Wellbeing (3 credits)
  • RELS 4340 Christian Ethics (3 credits)
  • RELS 4450 Sex, Race and Class: Feminist/Womanist Ethics (3 credits)
  • RELS 4680 Catholic Health Care Ethics (3 credits)

Select an additional 15 credits from RELS 2000-4999, PHL 3030 Philosophy of God (three credits), PHL 3040 Aquinas: First University Masterpieces (three credits), or any three-credit CAS 2000/3000-level course.

Note: At least 15 credits from the categories listed above must be at the 3000/4000 level.

Religious Studies Minor (18 credits)

Religions are at the core of cultures, and the study of religions is integral to the understanding of any human society. A deeper understanding of religious phenomena is thus a useful and enabling complement to virtually any course of study or career path. At the same time, however, due to the multi-traditional scope and multi-disciplinary nature of religious studies, a major in Religious Studies can seem very challenging. The minor in Religious Studies, by contrast, is comprised of only 18 credits (six courses) and is easily attainable since students at Áù¾ÅÉ«Ìà are already taking one to two courses in the fulfillment of their core curriculum requirements.

Given the multi-disciplinary and multicultural nature of Religious Studies, students who minor in Religious Studies will enjoy much flexibility in terms of course selection. The minor does not consist of one specific set of required courses, and students can easily tailor the minor program to suit their individual interests and to complement their majors.

Visit the Religious Studies minor page for more information.

Islamic Studies Minor (18 credits)

The Islamic Studies minor offers an approach to the focused study of Islam and Muslims that examines principal beliefs, core values, practices and cultural expressions. Courses provide introductory as well as critical, in-depth analyses of key themes employing the five Cs for foreign faith learning (communication, cultures, communities, comparisons and connections). It surveys insider, as well as outsider views of Islam, creatively engages students in communications about cross-disciplinary topics, connects Islam with the sciences, identifies commonalities and distinct viewpoints, occasionally compares Islam with other monotheistic, as well as monistic traditions, and participates in diverse communities that are multi-ethnic, multi-vocal, multi-linguistic and transnational. Courses will examine creative Islam, controversial Islam, classical Islam and contemporary Islam. The minor investigates the ultimate priorities, purposes and passions of a living faith and cultural tradition.

Visit the Islamic Studies minor page for more information.

Program Contact Information

Associate Professor and Department Chair: Todd Hibbard, Ph.D.
 Briggs Building, Room 332
McNichols Campus

Email: hibbarja@udmercy.edu
Telephone: 313-993-1088
Fax: 313-993-1166