THE - Theology

Study of the basic characteristics of religion and theology as exemplified in major religions of the world. The intent is not to compare religions but to understand and appreciate religion in the experience of many cultures and civilizations. For transfer students only.

This course examines faith, religion, and ethics and considers their roles in the human search for meaning. It engages students in critical and creative studies of diverse global theologies, including the Roman Catholic tradition.

This course examines how Biblical texts and interpretations shape faiths, theologies, spiritualities, ethics, practices, identities, cultures, and social and political dynamics. It gives students tools to interpret and engage these ancient Jewish and Christian texts from the Mediterranean world in contemporary global contexts.

This course aims to broaden the theological imagination of the students as they reflect on the wonderful reality some call God. Together with The Catechism of the Catholic Church, this course will affirm that “God transcends the human distinction between the sexes” and explore various ways of envisioning God that go beyond the image of a male God.

This course explores the prophetic tradition in biblical and contemporary times. Selected texts are read in the context of cultural and global realities to discover how culture shapes these texts and how these texts continue to shape cultures and world views. Topics include God, gender, power, justice, empire, ecology, hope, prophetic vision, and what it means to be prophetic today.

This course explores and critiques the wisdom writings of the Bible and other texts, and the cultures that shaped these texts. Focus is on the wisdom needed for wise decision-making practices for the work of justice and transformation of life in a globalized world. Attention is also given to two main wisdom themes: creation and the presence of the Divine in the midst of all life.

This course focuses on the comparative study of religions. It will investigate the definition of “religion” and then analyze several traditions in the context of this definition. Finally, it will compare these traditions to one another with regard to certain topics, such as worship, the soul, and the place of women.

This course includes reading and discussion of selections from both the Old and New Testaments. We will discuss elements of race and class, as well as gender and sexuality, as we take historical, cultural, and political contexts into consideration in light of the biblical canon while relating these issues to societies and cultures today.

As a first century missionary, theologian and letter writer, Paul of Tarsus (St. Paul) articulated many of Christianity's basic beliefs and presided over some of Christianity's earliest controversies. This course examines his letters as a way of gaining access to the concerns, the theology, and the growing pains of some of the very first Christians on record.

Our most important information on Jesus comes from the Gospels. This course examines the theology and history contained in the Gospels in order to gain an understanding of who Jesus was and how his message was received and developed by the early church. In alternating semesters, the course will focus on John, or on Matthew, Mark and Luke.

This course explores the theme of gender in the Bible, the cultures that shaped the texts, and how the biblical culture and stories continue to have an impact on life today as we struggle for gender justice in a globalized world. The course explores such topics as power, politics, kyriarchy, the intersectionality of gender discrimination with other forms of discrimination. Emphasis is on liberation, transformation, and ethical praxis.

What does it mean to be holy? Who are the saints and sinners in the Bible? How does God relate to them? What is meant by the sacredness of all creation? This course explores such themes as the spirit, the heart, prayer, sacred space, etc., in the context of a biblically-based contemplative and mystical understanding of life.

"Who is the good person?" is an ethical question founded on the premise that being a Christian makes one a certain type of person with certain values. This course offers a historical study of various philosophical and theological descriptions of the nature of the good person.

Analysis of several contemporary Catholic ethicists, including Curran, O'Connell, Regan, and McCormick, who have influenced the development of Catholic ethics. A critical examination of natural law, human freedom, conscience, authority, and the moral and rational capacity.

Contemporary American Christian thought on the nature of morality and society. An attempt to reveal the dynamics of faith that calls us to do justice. Special consideration given to the development of pacifism in American churches.

This course is an introduction to the theological ethics of character as encountered in the Christian tradition. We will systematically consider the topic through a series of guided discussions about values, decisions, conscience, habits, virtues and vices, the role of Christian narrative, and finally, an integrated theory and theology of Christian personal character. Readings will include selections from writings by Richard Gula, Paul J. Waddell, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, James Keenan, Stanley Hauerwas, James Gustafson, and the Gospel of Luke.

The issues of justice from a Catholic perspective as they affect society locally, nationally, and internationally.

Inquiry into the theological, philosophical, psychological, and social aspects of Christian marriage with specific emphasis on commitment and the bond of love. The moral problems of abortion, divorce, and homosexuality in the modern context will be discussed.

This course explores the human experience of suffering, loss, and grief from the perspective of practical theology, incorporating multi-disciplinary and inter-religious learnings and insights. It seeks to help students understand suffering and prepare them to encounter loss and grief in their personal and professional lives.

Drawing from Christian/Catholic tradition and from other ethical perspectives, the course addresses the moral dilemmas of abortion, artificial reproductive technologies, genetic technology, organ transplants, physician-assisted suicide, and issues of death and dying with the end goal of forming students as intelligent and critical interlocutors of bio-ethical issues.

Environmental Justice addresses issues of climate crisis, water justice, environmental racism, human rights, earth solidarity, and earth rights, in a global/cosmic context, in the light of Catholic social teaching and the ecological ethics of Buddhism, Hinduism, and American Indians. Using the paradigm of vision, norm, and choice, the course addresses concrete issues of environmental justice as presented in selected case studies.   

Sexual Ethics begins with a study of the historic evolution of sexual teachings to provide a context to current ethical debates on sexual issues. The course presents diverse perspectives on these issues for critical study, discourse, and discernment.

This course takes as a starting point gender violence as a phenomenon across cultures around the globe. With the main premise that gender violence is linked with gender inequity, it studies this inequity's roots in patriarchal traditions, cultural practices, and religious beliefs. It ends with the study of gender resistance through feminist theo-religious reconstruction and liberative activism.

Explores contemporary Christian and Jewish theological reflections on the Nazi genocide campaign to eliminate the Jews of Europe. Special emphasis on the documents of the churches until now, on the Austrian and German efforts to cope with this part of recent history, and on the relation of early anti-Judaism in Christian cultures to racism and anti-Semitism.

This course will explore the ways material reality affects how human beings relate to divinity. Students will learn about the ways place, time, sound, smell, gesture, food, art, and narrative affect spirituality. Special attention will be given to rituals of worship.

Exploration of liturgy as Christian worship, considering ritual symbolism as the "language" (word and action) of worship, and worship as Christian faith in dialogue with God. Includes a critical evaluation of contemporary liturgical reforms in ecumenical perspective.

This course will explore the connection between rituals of worship and the ethical behavior of the people who practice those rituals. As a form of language, rituals exert influence on how people understand themselves and how they behave toward others. This course will address topics such as ecology, gender, economics, race, culture, and technology.

This Course offers an opportunity to deepen awareness of sacred presence through theological and historical exploration of spiritual practices such as lectio divina, meditation, and contemplation. Students will examine key concepts that inform these practices, such as discernment and gratitude, through active and self-reflective participation in spiritual practices.

An exploration of Christian spirituality in terms of images of God, Christian anthropology, prayer, and social and ecological concerns. Includes a critical and dialogical engagement with selected classical texts from the Christian tradition that suggest ways of being in right relationships with God, self, others, and the natural world within the context of the 21st century.

This course is an exploration of the wisdom offered by various religious traditions for responding to a time of ecological crisis. In this course, students will examine the role of religious experience in making ethical decisions about creation-care, reflect upon their own response to ecological crisis, and design spiritual practices expressive of that response. 

This 1 credit course is a requirement each semester for Faith and Formation Ambassadors. Students integrate the different components of the program: work in the residence halls, L'Arche@UP, and personal spiritual formation, through theological reflection as well as engagement in diverse University activities. Course is graded P/NP.

Theology 348 examines what it means to experience and/or accompany others in times of suffering and death. The course surveys issues of loss from interdisciplinary and interreligious perspectives while also incorporating ethical and cultural insights. It invites students to explore and reflect on two fundamental aspects of existence--suffering and death—that are an enduring part of our holistic human experience. (Nursing students only.)

What does it mean to be human in light of the mystery of Christ?  As they examine the nature of human freedom through the traditional categories of creation, sin, grace and eschatology, students will be challenged to employ the riches of the Roman Catholic tradition in articulating the meaning and destiny of their own humanity.

This course takes a comparative approach to the theological inquiry probing fundamental religious questions in relation to African indigenous Religions and Christianity. We will look at the major beliefs and practices of African indigenous Religions and Christianity and their historical development using primary sources and focusing on how diverse religious approaches might be mutually illuminative.

This course will introduce students to the contemporary trends in theological anthropology. Notions of identity and relationality will be explored theologically, culturally, and philosophically. These will be linked to other social issues like ecology, poverty, racial and economic justice, feminism, grace, and suffering.

Historical development of conflicts, especially over the theory of evolution, and the variety of positions presented today by theologians, scientists, and philosophers.

Systematic reflection upon the doctrine of Christ in its biblical, classical, and contemporary historical perspectives. Students will gain insight into the Church’s proclamation of Jesus as the Christ by examining the faith experiences of communities past and present in relation to their own experience of faith.

This course will explore the Catholic theological tradition from a literary perspective, primarily as it finds expression in five novelists whose writings are influenced by this tradition.

An examination of elements of theological reflection in the Roman Catholic tradition, with emphasis on theological method and the development of doctrine. From the starting point of an experience of faith that is personal and communal, historical and eschatological, students will explore the interrelationships among such theological categories as Revelation, Scripture and Tradition, Grace, Christology, and Ecclesiology.

This course will explore the Catholic theological tradition primarily as it finds expression in recent Catholic writing. Some examples of subjects to be discussed include Jesus Christ, Revelation, the Fall of humanity, the problem of evil, the nature of sacraments, and the implications of faith for personal relationships.

The course traces Christianity’s meteoric development in the first millennium. It examines the break from Judaism, the formation of the Christian Bible, the age of martyrs, the theological golden period of the late Roman Empire, and the rise of the papacy and monasticism. Its tools are chronological tracking, historical vignettes, analysis of selected texts, and profiles of important figures.

The course traces Christianity’s vigorous but fragmented growth in the second millennium. It studies the grandeur of the medieval cathedrals, the ideas of scholasticism and mysticism, the challenges of the Reformation, the rise of modernity, and the course of Christianity in America. Its tools are chronological tracking, historical vignettes, analysis of selected texts and profiles of important figures.

This course introduces, explores, and evaluates queer Christian theologies. Examining sources and methods within this burgeoning theological sub-field, it traces developments of queer(ing) theologies—from early turns to Scripture/doctrine affirming same-sex relationships, to efforts revising theologies in light of queer lives—and considers key themes, future possibilities, and impacts on ecclesial and public contexts.

Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) grounds the history of western theology, and still informs modern fields like psychology and linguistics. While situating him in Roman antiquity, the course studies his thought as an account of Christian faith seeking understanding. We will read in depth his classic, theologically profound conversion story, the Confessions, and study his thought on God, Scripture, and the grace of Christ.

The course traces Christianity’s development, from its origins as an obscure Jewish sect, through acceptance and growth in the late Roman Empire and mature self-definition in the Middle Ages, to the challenges of fragmentation and renewal in the Reformation and the modern world. Its tools are chronological tracking, historical vignettes, analysis of selected texts, and profiles of important figures.

This course explores the central theme of Christian hope and its role in shaping the political, cultural, economic, historical, ecological and relational experiences of humans in society.

This course will introduce students to both the historical and theological development of interreligious dialogue in the Roman Catholic Church’s tradition. Particular attention will be given to the meaning and purpose of interfaith encounters, identity, culture, memory, history, and politics. We will appropriate insights from theological, cultural, philosophical, and political voices from the global north and south.

Christian tradition in the 21st century and post Vatican II; the modern Church in the liturgy, the ecumenical movement toward Christian unity, the social justice and evangelical mission of the Church in the secular and pluralistic world. (Salzburg only.)

This course aims to broaden the theological imagination of the students as they reflect on the wonderful reality some call God. Together with The Catechism of the Catholic Church this course will affirm that “God transcends the human distinction between the sexes” and explore various ways of envisioning God that go beyond the image of a male God.

This course explores the prophetic tradition in biblical and contemporary times. Selected texts are read in the context of cultural and present day global realities to discover how culture shapes these texts and how these texts continue to shape cultures and world views. Topics include God, gender, power, justice, empire, ecology, hope, prophetic vision, and what it means to be prophetic today.

This course explores and critiques the wisdom writings of the Bible and other texts, and the cultures that shaped these texts. Focus is on the wisdom needed for wise decision-making practices for the work of justice and transformation of life in a globalized world. Attention is also given to two main wisdom themes: creation and the presence of the Divine in the midst of all life.

This course focuses on the comparative study of religions. It will investigate the definition of “religion” and then analyze several traditions in the context of this definition. Finally, it will compare these traditions to one another with regard to certain topics, such as worship, the soul, and the place of women. 

This course includes reading and discussion of selections from both the Old and New Testaments. We will discuss issues of race and class, as well as gender and sexuality, as we take historical, cultural, and political contexts into consideration in light of the biblical canon and relating these issues societies and cultures today.

As a first century missionary, theologian and letter writer, Paul of Tarsus (St. Paul) articulated many of Christianity's basic beliefs and presided over some of Christianity's earliest controversies. This course examines his letters as a way of gaining access to the concerns, the theology, and the growing pains of some of the very first Christians on record.

Our most important information on Jesus comes from the Gospels. This course examines the theology and history contained in the Gospels in order to gain an understanding of who Jesus was and how his message was received and developed by the early church. In alternating semesters, the course will focus on John, or on Matthew, Mark and Luke.

This course explores the theme of gender in the Bible, the cultures that shaped the texts, and how the biblical culture and stories continue to have an impact on life today as we struggle for gender justice in a globalized world. The course explores such topics as power, politics, kyriarchy, the intersectionality of gender discrimination with other forms of discrimination. Emphasis is on liberation, transformation, and ethical praxis.

What does it mean to be holy? Who are the saints and sinners in the Bible? How does God relate to them? What is meant by the sacredness of all creation? This course explores such themes as the spirit, the heart, prayer, sacred space, etc., in the context of a biblically-based contemplative and mystical understanding of life.

"Who is the good person?" is an ethical question founded on the premise that being a Christian makes one a certain type of person with certain values. This course offers a historical study of various philosophical and theological descriptions of the nature of the good person.

Analysis of several contemporary Catholic ethicists, including Curran, O'Connell, Regan, and McCormick, who have influenced the development of Catholic ethics. A critical examination of natural law, human freedom, conscience, authority, and the moral and rational capacity.

Contemporary American Christian thought on the nature of morality and society. An attempt to reveal the dynamics of faith that calls us to do justice. Special consideration given to the development of pacifism in American churches.

This course is an introduction to the theological ethics of character as encountered in the Christian tradition. We will systematically consider the topic through a series of guided discussions about values, decisions, conscience, habits, virtues and vices, the role of Christian narrative, and finally, an integrated theory and theology of Christian personal character. Readings will include selections from writings by Richard Gula, Paul J. Waddell, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, James Keenan, Stanley Hauerwas, James Gustafson, and the Gospel of Luke.

The issues of justice from a Catholic perspective as they affect society locally, nationally, and internationally.

Inquiry into the theological, philosophical, psychological, and social aspects of Christian marriage with specific emphasis on commitment and the bond of love. The moral problems of abortion, divorce, and homosexuality, special to the modern context, will be discussed.

This course explores the human experience of suffering, loss, and grief from the perspective of practical theology, incorporating multi-disciplinary and inter-religious learnings and insights. It seeks to help students understand suffering and prepare them to encounter loss and grief in their personal and professional lives.

Drawing from the Christian/Catholic tradition and from other ethical perspectives, the course addresses the moral dilemmas of abortion, artificial reproductive technologies, genetic technology, organ transplants, physician-assisted suicide, and issues of death and dying with the end goal of forming students as intelligent and critical interlocutors of bio-ethical issues.

Sexual Ethics begins with a study of the historic evolution of sexual teachings to provide a context to current ethical debates on sexual issues. The course presents diverse perspectives on these issues for critical study, discourse, and discernment.

This course takes as a starting point gender violence as a phenomenon across cultures around the globe. With the main premise that gender violence is linked  gender inequity, it studies this inequity's roots in patriarchal traditions, cultural practices, and religious beliefs. It ends with the study of gender resistance through feminist theo-religious reconstruction and liberative activism.

Explores contemporary Christian and Jewish theological reflections on the Nazi genocide campaign to eliminate the Jews of Europe. Special emphasis on the documents of the churches until now, on the Austrian and German efforts to cope with this part of recent history, and on the relation of early anti-Judaism in Christian cultures to racism and anti-Semitism.

This course will explore the ways material reality affects how human beings relate to divinity. Students will learn about the ways place, time, sound, smell, gesture, food, art, and narrative affect spirituality. Special attention will be given to rituals of worship.

Exploration of liturgy as Christian worship, considering ritual symbolism as the "language" (word and action) of worship, and worship as Christian faith in dialogue with God. Includes a critical evaluation of contemporary liturgical reforms in ecumenical perspective.

This course will explore the connection between rituals of worship and the ethical behavior of the people who practice those rituals. As a form of language, rituals exert influence on how people understand themselves and how they behave toward others. This course will address topics such as: ecology, gender, economics, race, culture, and technology.

Enrich an awareness of God's presence in the world through a theological and historical exploration of Christian spiritual practices such as lectio divina, meditation, and contemplation. Students will examine key concepts that inform these practices, such as discernment and gratitude, through active and self-reflective participation in spiritual practices.

An exploration of Christian spirituality in terms of images of God, Christian anthropology, prayer, and social and ecological concerns. Includes a critical and dialogical engagement with selected classical texts from the Christian tradition that suggest ways of being in right relationships with God, self, others and the natural world within the context of the 21st century.

This course is an exploration of the wisdom offered by various religious traditions for responding to a time of ecological crisis. In this course, students will examine the role of religious experience in making ethical decisions about creation-care, reflect upon their own response to ecological crisis, and design spiritual practices expressive of that response. 

What does it mean to be human in light of the mystery of Christ? As they examine the nature of human freedom through the traditional categories of creation, sin, grace, and eschatology, students will be challenged to employ the riches of the Roman Catholic tradition in articulating the meaning and destiny of their own humanity.

This course takes a comparative approach to the theological inquiry probing fundamental religious questions in relation to African indigenous Religions and Christianity. We will look at the major beliefs and practices of African indigenous Religions and Christianity and their historical development, using primary sources and focusing on how diverse religious approaches might be mutually illuminative.

This course will introduce students to the contemporary trends in theological anthropology. Notions of identity and relationality will be explored theologically, culturally, and philosophically. These will be linked to other social issues like ecology, poverty, racial and economic justice, feminism, grace, and suffering.

Historical development of conflicts, especially over the theory of evolution, and the variety of positions presented today by theologians, scientists, and philosophers.

Systematic reflection upon the doctrine of Christ in its biblical, classical, and contemporary historical perspectives. Students will gain insight into the Church's proclamation of Jesus as the Christ by examining the faith experiences of communities past and present in relation to their own experience of faith.

This course will explore the Catholic theological tradition from a literary perspective, primarily as it finds expression in five novelists whose writing is influenced by that tradition.

An examination of elements of theological reflection in the Roman Catholic tradition, with emphasis on theological method and the development of doctrine. From the starting point of an experience of faith that is personal and communal, historical and eschatological, students will explore the interrelationships among such theological categories as Revelation, Scripture and Tradition, Grace, Christology, and Ecclesiology.

This course will explore the Catholic theological tradition primarily as it finds expression in recent Catholic writing. Some examples of subjects to be discussed include Jesus Christ, Revelation, the Fall of humanity, the problem of evil, the nature of sacraments, and the implications of faith for personal relationships.

This course introduces, explores, and evaluates queer Christian theologies. Examining sources and methods within this burgeoning theological sub-field, it traces developments of queer(ing) theologies—from early turns to Scripture/doctrine affirming same-sex relationships, to efforts revising theologies in light of queer lives—and considers key themes, future possibilities, and impacts on ecclesial and public contexts.

This course explores the central theme of Christian hope and its role in shaping the political, cultural, economic, historical, ecological, and relational experiences of humans in society.

This course will introduce students to both the historical and theological development of interreligious dialogue in the Roman Catholic Church’s tradition. Particular attention will be given to the meaning and purpose of interfaith encounters, identity, culture, memory, history, and politics. We will appropriate insights from theological, cultural, philosophical, and political voices from the global north and south. 

The course traces Christianity's meteoric development in the first millennium. It examines the break from Judaism, the formation of the Christian Bible, the age of martyrs, the theological golden period of the late Roman Empire, and the rise of the papacy and monasticism. Its tools are chronological tracking, historical vignettes, analysis of selected texts, and profiles of important figures.

The course traces Christianity's vigorous but fragmented growth in the second millennium. It studies the grandeur of the medieval cathedrals, the ideas of scholasticism and mysticism, the challenges of the Reformation, the rise of modernity, and the course of Christianity in America. Its tools are chronological tracking, historical vignettes, analysis of selected texts and profiles of important figures.

Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) grounds the history of western theology, and still informs modern fields like psychology and linguistics. While situating him in Roman antiquity, the course studies his thought as an account of Christian faith seeking understanding. We will read in depth his classic, theologically profound conversion story, the Confessions, and study his thought on God, Scripture, and the grace of Christ.

The course traces Christianity's development, from its origins as an obscure Jewish sect, through acceptance and growth in the late Roman Empire and mature self-definition in the Middle Ages, to the challenges of fragmentation and renewal in the Reformation and the modern world. Its tools are chronological tracking, historical vignettes, analysis of selected texts, and profiles of important figures.

This course surveys issues of suffering and death from biblical, systematic, and ethical perspectives of Theology, as well as psycho-social, legal, and ethical perspectives of the health care profession, especially nursing.  Focus is on exploring the human experience of loss and the many dimensions of grief encountered in dealing with loss.

This course examines biblical, theological and philosophical perspectives on the challenges posed by climate change. Global topics may include sacramentality; common good; world hunger; loss of biodiversity and habitat; intrinsic value vs. instrumental value; fairness, justice, and obligation with respect to climate change mitigation and adaptation; climate-related natural disasters; climate migration and refugees.

This course investigates the relationship between theology and science, the science of ecology and the related field of environmental science, the major aspects of our current environmental crisis, the underlying historical and social reasons for this crisis, and current attempts to reformulate Christian theology from the perspective of ecology. This course also explores possible solutions for a sustainable future.

Special Offerings.

Guided inquiry for superior juniors and seniors who wish to pursue a particular subject area in Theology more intensely than course offerings permit. By special arrangement with members of the Theology faculty.

Special Offerings.

A required course for theology majors that explores advanced aspects of the discipline and practice of theology. Students will examine key topics and theological methods of analysis. The course will focus on writing in the discipline, critical reading of primary and secondary sources, and peer discussion. Theology majors only.

Credit arranged.

Credit arranged.

Research, study, or original work under the direction of a faculty mentor leading to a scholarly capstone document. Requires approval of capstone director, department chair, and the director of the Honors program, when appropriate. Grade will be IP until all requirements are fulfilled.

Preparation for the presentation of a student's previous written work for a general audience. For Theology majors in Track 1, this will be a student's capstone thesis; for those in Track 2, this will be a paper chosen in consultation with a faculty mentor. Requires approval of the department chair.