The theology program is a four-year required course sequence. Its overall goal is to enable students to think theologically and to reflect upon their own faith. The first three years are foundational and consist of Theology 1 in the ninth grade year, Theology 2 for sophomores, and Theology 3 for juniors. The Theology 4 couses taken in the senior year build upon the foundation. Most Theology 4 couses are one semester in length and some are coed.
Department Members
Anne Doyle, Department Chair
Art Buckley
Tommy Calais
Julie Donati
Becky Rushing
Georgia Skopal
Eleanor Todd
Diana Turney
Dan Westerman
Theology Courses
300 THEOLOGY 1 GOD'S REVELATION: JESUS CHRIST (1 credit)
The ninth grade theology course is focused on God's revelation as known through Scripture. This yearlong course of study examines God's invitation to all people to relationship as revealed in salvation history and pre-eminently in the person of Jesus Christ. Students will develop a general knowledge and appreciation of the sacred Scriptures, including the development of the Bible, the study of the historical and cultural influences which helped to shape the Bible and the major themes of the Scriptures. Through Scripture, we encounter Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate Revelation to us from God. In learning more about the person of Jesus Christ, the students will also learn who He calls them to be.
306 THEOLOGY 2 CATHOLICISM (1 credit)
This sophomore level course examines various aspects of Catholicism as the continuation of Jesus Christ's mission on earth. Students will study the historical development of the Church from biblical times to present. Major beliefs, doctrines, and practices will be studied, including explanation of how such beliefs have developed and their relevance for Catholic believers today. Our goal is that students have a clearer understanding that in and through the Church they encounter the living Jesus Christ and grow in appreciation of Catholicism.
310 THEOLOGY 3 LIFE IN CHRIST (1 credit)
This junior level class is designed to help students understand that through Christ they can fully live out God's plans for their lives. In this course, the sacraments are explored as privileged encounters with Christ. Students will examine the nature and meaning of each sacrament. In addition, students will examine Catholic moral principles and how to apply them. We will explore the nature and role of conscience and conscience formation.
THEOLOGY 4: SENIOR LEVEL ELECTIVES IN THEOLOGY
321 HEALING RACISM (1/2 credit)
This course provides a forum for discussing racism. We study racism in our country's past in our search to answer the question of why there is so much prejudice and racism in our society. We will also look at how racism manifests itself in more subtle and destructive ways today. Through this dialogue, study, and prayer, it is hoped that we will work on healing the damage racism has caused in our own lives and in our communities.
Open to Strake Jesuit students.
325 PEACE: PATHWAY TO WHOLENESS (1/2 credit)
This course will use the New Testament to present peace as a pathway to wholeness in relationship to self, others, the world community and the environment. Students will examine the power of peace to resolve conflict and to create justice in family, friendships and world relations. This peace is rooted in the person of Jesus Christ in his teaching and his life. There will be exploration of other historical people and events that are examples of gospel peacemaking. This course will present the peace of Christ as the foundation and focus of a life dedicated to promoting universal justice and human rights.
Open to Strake Jesuit students.
335 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY (1 credit)
Philosophy (literally--"love of wisdom") is a discipline which attempts to answer the ultimate questions about God, humanity, and the universe by means of human reason without resorting to religious faith. Can we really know anything with certainty? Can we prove the existence of God? Can we prove the existence of the soul and its immortality? What is the purpose of the universe? Human destiny? What is evil? The first semester attempts to answer these questions in a non-Christian philosophical context both ancient and modern. The second semester attempts to answer the ultimate question in the context of Christian philosophy. In addition, there is a short section in logic.
Open to Strake Jesuit students.
337 CHRISTIAN PARENTING (1/2 credit)
This course will present the psychological, physiological, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of child development as the basis for good parenting. We will explore the parenting skills necessary for a healthy family environment and examine the meaning and roles of both motherhood and fatherhood. An integral part of the course will be how to incorporate faith development and the sacramental life of the Church into the life of the family. Additionally, attention will be given to the blessings of and challenges raised by interdenominational and interfaith marriages.
Open to Strake Jesuit students.
350 CHRISTIANITY & CONTEMPORARY U.S. CULTURE (1/2 credit)
This course focuses on three fundamental areas:
- What are the values and operative philosophies of U.S. culture today? How did we arrive at them, and how are they expressed?
- How does religious faith develop in U.S.?
- At what points do Christianity and U.S. culture support each other, and at what points do they oppose each other? To what extent can one be American and Christian?
The course provides an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of life within the context of the U.S. and Catholic-Christian traditions. It also allows students to assess the values and attitudes commonly presented in U.S. television, movies, advertising, and so on.
Open to Strake Jesuit students.
357 SEEKING GOD THROUGH FILM (1/2 CREDIT)
This class will explore, through film, theological themes such as love, forgiveness, goodness, evil, salvation, the meaning of life, God's relationship with humanity, suffering and the trials of everyday life. Students will view, analyze, and discuss selected films in light of scripture and Catholic teaching. This course will help students to approach film more critically and attentively, becoming aware of how film can be a medium for reinforcing gospel values, and not just a medium that presents values contrary to the gospel.
Open to Strake Jesuit students.
365 AUGUSTINE AND AQUINAS (1/2 CREDIT)
This course will explore the philosophical and theological contributions of these thinkers in dialog with contemporary issues and challenges. The course will emphasize their understanding of the relationship between reason and faith, God, the human person, knowledge, human destiny, and morality. In addition to a textually-based study of Augustine and Aquinas, the course will require considerable interaction with ancient Greek philosophy, especially Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus. Study of Augustine is grounded primarily in his autobiographical work, Confessions, while the study of Thomas Aquinas is grounded in a selection of texts primarily drawn from the Summa Theologiae. Classes include lecture and discussion formats.
Taken at Strake Jesuit.
367 COMPARATIVE CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS (1/2 CREDIT)
This course will cover the Orthodox Church, the mainline Protestant churches of Episcopalianism, Lutheranism, Methodism, Presbyterianism and select other denominations such as Baptist, Mormon, and the Pentecostal movement. In addition to studying the beliefs of each denomination, they will examine their origin, development, structure and forms of worship.
Taken at Strake Jesuit.
372 RELIGION IN FICTION (1/2 CREDIT)
This class will explore religious themes found in secular fiction and writing. We will primarily read short stories, but will also use novels, plays, poems, and lyrics. Our authors include Graham Greene, Flannery O'Connor, Saul Bellow, Robert Stone, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Walker Percy, Andre Dubus, and others. We will look at the way authors have used their writing to examine themes such as: belief and unbelief; temptation, sin and forgiveness; grace and the sacredness of the world; suffering and death; redemption and salvation; and more.
Taken at Strake Jesuit.
374 POLITICS AND RELIGION(1/2 CREDIT)
This course will examine current American political issues, especially the 2008 elections, and explore how religious beliefs impact how we vote and who we support. We will analyze how political issues are presented in the press, literature, film, and music. We will also look at the different ways high school and college students can become politically involved to help bring about meaningful change. We will meet with representatives of political parties and political candidates, people involved in Catholic justice and peace efforts, college campus activists and other local activists, politically-oriented artists, and others.
Taken at Strake Jesuit.
