The goal of the Religion department is to form and develop the whole person: heart, mind, spirit, and body in the teachings of the Catholic Church rooted in Sacred Scripture and enhanced by the Ignatian spiritual tradition. Complementing the work of the Campus Ministry program, the coursework within Religion will challenge students on an academic level in order to provide them with a comprehensive knowledge of their faith.
Students are required to take Religion all four years in accord with the following diocesan-prescribed curriculum.
Freshmen year, the students will gain an in-depth understanding of God's covenant given and renewed throughout the Old Testament and ultimately fulfilled through Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Students will also be introduced to the school’s charism of Ignatian Spirituality.
The first semester of Sophomore year continues the work of encountering God’s Word, with special attention given to the Paschal Mystery as the fulfillment of God’s plan for salvation. The second semester of the course investigates the development of the Church’s teachings as they are derived throughout the history of the faith.
The beginning of Junior year leads students to understand the importance of the grace given through the sacraments of the Church. Complementing this work, the second semester challenges students to consider the choices they make through the lens of Catholic morality.
As a conclusion to the four-year curriculum, Seniors spend the first-semester studying social justice as drawn from Catholic Social Teaching. They then use this knowledge of being “men and women with and for others” to discern their personal vocation in the second half of the year.
In addition to the required coursework, students may opt-in their Senior year to complete the Catholic Social Teaching course at a collegiate level through the College-in-High School program with Saint Vincent College. Three college credits can be earned by obtaining a passing grade in the course.
As an elective course for interested students, Juniors and Seniors may choose to take “Theology in Film.” This class involves a study of selected classic and popular movies through the viewpoint of the Catholic theological lens.