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RS 404 World Religions
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
An introduction to the major religious traditions of the world. After an introduction to the study of religion, this course explores the cultural and historical settings and the various forms of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Special attention is given to the spirituality and values fostered by each. The concepts of God and the holy, the human condition and destiny, ritual practices, and ethical behavior is among the major topics dealt with and compared. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 414 Women and Religion
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Examination, from women’s perspectives, of women’s experiences in various religious traditions. The relationship between religious definitions of women and their social status. Feminists’ and womanists’ critical theories relating to dogmas, traditions and ethics. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 422 The Old Testament (First Testament) I: Torah and Historical Writings
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
A study of the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy) and the historical books (Joshua through II Kings). Use of contemporary methods of critical interpretation of the major stories and their theological insights, humor and enduring power. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 423 The Old Testament (First Testament) II: Prophets, Wisdom, Apocalyptic
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
A study of the major and minor prophets, the Wisdom literature and the emergence of the Apocalyptic in the book of Daniel. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 424 The New Testament (Second Testament) I: The Four Gospels
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
A survey of modern scholarship on the Gospels. Religious and political conditions of the Greco-Roman world of the first century of the Common Era. The formation of the Gospels, the quest for the historical Jesus and for information about the Jesus movement. The distinctive approaches of the four evangelists, and the relationship of canonical to non-canonical gospels. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 425 The New Testament (Second Testament) II: Acts, Letters, Revelation
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
A study of the development of the primitive church, its Christologies/theologies, lifestyles and leadership conflicts in the context of the political, religious and social currents of the Greco-Roman world of the first century of the Common Era. RS 424 is not a prerequisite for this course. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 432 Classical and Contemporary Catholicism
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Exploration of the historic Catholic tradition from the patristic to the modern era, with special attention to the philosophical and theological foundations and implications of key beliefs, symbols, doctrines and rituals. Focus on the distinctiveness of Roman Catholicism. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 434 Christian Ethics
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
An introduction to the foundations of Christian morality in the New Testament and their later development, including contemporary theology and present-day issues and questions (nuclear war, abortion, social justice, etc.) | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 444 Sexuality and Love in Contemporary Christian Thought
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
The nature of human sexuality and its relationship to love. Contemporary theories of psychosexual development. History of Christian teaching regarding sex. Changing attitudes toward sexuality, homosexuality, married love and celibacy. Sexuality and gender roles. Sexual love and its relationship to religious love. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 500 Seminar: The Academic Study of Religion
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
This course introduces students to the discipline of religious studies and explains how it differs from theology. It outlines the history of the discipline from the 19th century onwards and the view of those writers (like Friedrich Schleiermacher, Rudolph Otto, and Mircea Eliade) who have contributed to its growth and development. Contributions to major areas of study such as the essence, origin, function, and language of religion are discussed. Further, the various methods used in religious studies (such as the historical, phenomenological, and linguistic) are examined and evaluated. How these methods are applied to the study of various religious fields, such as religious experience, the concept of God, and human nature and destiny, are a major focus of the course. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 501 Anthropology of Religion
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
An introduction to current anthropological approaches to the study of religion. Symbolism, myth, ritual, magic and witchcraft. Contemporary viewpoints on primitive religions and on the great religions. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 502 Contemporary Religious Movements
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
The "cults" of the 1970s and their impact on traditional religion. Understanding their excesses, financial successes and appeal | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 503 Hinduism
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
History of Hinduism from its classical and pre-classical origins to contemporary manifestations. The religious and philosophical movements, change and continuity in the development of religious thought and institutions. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 505 Islam
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Understanding and living with religion. Politics and culture in the Middle East. Origin and growth of Islamic civilization, emphasizing the principal teachings, including selections from the Qur’an. The life of the Prophet Muhammad, later developments in Sufi mysticism, sectarian differences and the recent Black Muslim experience in America. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 506 Buddhism
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
History of Buddhism from its origins to later manifestations and differentiations into Mahayana and Theravada. Major philosophical schools and Buddhist institutions in South and East Asia. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 507 Judaism
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Essentials of Basic Judaism: the beliefs, practices, customs, ceremonies, holidays and institutions. Current trends in contemporary Jewish life and the concerns of Jewish people today. The different denominations within Judaism. The place of modern Israel. The Holocaust. Modern masters of Jewish thought. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 513 Interreligious Dialogue
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
An examination of current efforts to promote interreligious dialogue. Various Christian interpretations (or theologies) of other religions are examined with reference to major official church documents published over the past half century. The meaning of dialogue and arguments put forward to support it, along with its risks and the efforts to harmonize it with Christian evangelization, are considered. Also, understandings of interreligious dialogue from the viewpoints of non-Christian religions are examined as well. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 520 Apocalypse
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
An Intensive review of the book of Revelation and Apocalyptic literature. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 522 Wisdom Literature
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
A literary historical examination of wisdom writings in the Hebrew scripture. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 524 Feminist Biblical Interpretation
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Female subordination/male dominance, images of God, power and leadership in institutional religion, differences in the ways African Americans and white Americans read the Bible. Women in Israelite societies, in early Judaism, in the Jesus movement, and in Gnosticism. Major American and European feminist/womanist literary criticism. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 526 Gospel Studies
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
An examination of one of the canonical or non-canonical Gospels (its sources, composition, distinctive christological and theological emphasis, historical community context, contemporary relevance), or of a specific topic in Gospel research (parables, roots of Christian anti-Semitism, search for the historical Jesus, etc.) Attention is given to gender issues. See specific course description for the semester in which this course is offered. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 531 The Christian God (The Trinity)
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
A study of the experience of God as Father, Jesus and Spirit; New Testament formulations (as well as Jewish-scriptural background), Patristic development and Conciliar definitions. Medieval theological elaboration, contemporary reinterpretation and relevance. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 534 Theology of Death and Resurrection
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
An approach through literature and theology to the deepest of life's mysteries: the dying and rising of Jesus and of every human being. Biblical material as well as psychological and literary analogues to the experience of death and resurrection. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 537 Black Liberation Theologies
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Investigation of some contemporary theologies in development by people of the African Diaspora, drawing on critical race theory, gender constructions, and social analysis, as direct responses to oppression. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 538 Latin American Liberation Theologies
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Investigation of some contemporary theological constructions and principles in development by people in various Spanish-speaking countries, as responses to the sociocritical analysis of multiple oppressions. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 543 Ethics and Economic Theories
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
The underlying assumptions about human nature, community, and justice expressed in contemporary economic theories in light of religious, especially Christian, teaching in social ethics. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 547 Christian Social Thought
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
The positions of major Christian thinkers on the responsibilities of men and women toward each other, government, the legitimacy of dissent, issues of justice. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 548 Justice: Contemporary Issues and Theories
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Contemporary problems of justice in the areas of economics, law, government and international relations in relation to philosophical and religious theories of justice. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 550 Religion and Psychology
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Areas of intersection between religion and psychology, especially as interpreted by the psychodynamic and humanistic schools of thought. Faith development, conscience and superego, the notion of healthy human behavior, origin of the idea of God, quest for meaning, moral development. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 555 Poets, Mystics and God
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
God as revealed to the intuitive vision of great poets and mystics, chiefly of the English tradition. Works to read include: The Cloud of Unknowing, Eliot’s Four Quartets, and the poetry of G.M. Hopkins and Dylan Thomas. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 557 Spiritual Autobiographies
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
A careful reading of some of the great religious autobiographies beginning with Augustine’s Confessions and moving on to such 20th century giants as Gandhi and Dorothy Day, followed by an attempt to write one’s own spiritual history in order to understand God’s presence in one’s life more clearly. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 558 Theology of the Imagination 3
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
A study of the process of human creativity and of the ways in which the imagination functions in religious revelation, art and literature to disclose the divine. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 559 Violence, Nonviolence and Religion 3
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Exploration of different relationships between religion and violence through the consideration of various theories about the origins and nature of violence. This course examines the various ways in which different religious faiths have both encouraged violence and condemned it, while proposing ways of ending the cycle of violence and enabling its victims to heal. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 560 Christian Love
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Prerequisites:
Exploration of the traditional doctrines of love, agape, and caritas, and their related doctrines of grace and sin. Special attention paid to issues made by gender differences, and to recent attempts to reconstruct a model of Christian love in terms of care. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 561 Modern Roman Catholic Theology
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Exploration of traditional and modern Roman Catholic theology since Vatican II. Focus on the theologies of Karl Rahner, Francis Fiorenza, David Tracy, and Elizabeth Johnson. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 562 Religion and Film
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Introduction to the task of interpreting film theologically. Emphasis on the ways in which cinematographic techniques can convey religious meanings and perspectives | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 563 Religion, Health and Healing
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Exploration and comparison of healing traditions in indigenous cultures with modern medical culture. Emphasis on shamanism, Jesus Christ as healer, Christian healers and their methods, and energy medicine. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 570 Sex, Race and Class: Christian Feminists/Womanist Ethics
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
An introduction to Christian feminist and womanist ethics. Topics may include the revisioning of love, justice, sexuality, and the common good. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 595 Directed Readings
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Readings on a selected issue or problem. Permission of instructor required. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 596 Topics in Biblical Studies
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Topics may include Apocalyptic Literature in The First and Second Testaments; Wisdom Literature in both Testaments; or the Passion and Resurrection Narratives. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 597 Topics in Theology
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Topics may include Contemporary Christologies; Protestant Theology; Modern Christian Theologians; of the Theology of Karl Rahner. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 598 Topics in Ethics
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Topics may include Ethics and Economic Theories; Contemporary Ethical Theories; of American Religious Social Thought. | 3 | 0 | 0 | | |
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RS 599 Master’s Thesis
| Credit Hours | Recitation/Lecture Hours | Studio Hours | Clinical Hours | Lab Hours |
Students should consult chairperson for format requirements. | 6 | 0 | 0 | | |
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