200

THEO-20000 The Message of Jesus

Students explore the great truth that underlies the gospel message that Jesus is risen and is present with his people.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-20100 Modern Christian Spirituality

A study of modern Christian understandings of experiences of God in the world and their relation to the Catholic religious tradition, particularly the tradition's call to love. Non-religious experiences of a spiritual dimension to human existence will also be explored.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-20400 Christian History

This course is a survey of the history of Christianity, from the time of its founder and its founding through the early period up to the modern era.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-20500 The Catholic Church

The nature and the function of the Roman Catholic Church are discussed, with a consideration of how the Church functions both in itself and in relation to other religious traditions.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-215XX Topics in Theology

This course is organized by theologian, period, or topic, with an emphasis on the engagement of Roman Catholic and Christian tradition with culture. Topics vary; see the University Course Schedule.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-21700 Writing in Theology

A one-credit online tutorial in the genres of writing in the discipline of Theology providing reinforcement of skills pertaining to forms of writing and research appropriate to theological inquiry, including the Turabian/University of Chicago style. Students complete exercises enabling them to build skills toward a fifteen-page research paper in an upper-level, 3-credit Theology course. Together with an upper-level Theology course containing a research component and THEO 31700 (Research in Theology), this course fulfills the Advanced Writing requirement for Theology majors. Topics and methods deployed to assess a given topic will vary from semester to semester and from student to student.
1

Prerequisites

ENGL 11100, THEO 10000 or 10600, and permission of the Department Chair.

THEO-22300 The Old Testament

This introduction to the Old Testament, also called the Hebrew Bible, addresses the history, literature, religion and culture of ancient Israel.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-22500 The New Testament

The literature and world of the early Christian era are studied, with special emphasis on the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth and the development of the early Church.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-22700 Catholic Sacraments

This course offers a scriptural, theological and liturgical study of the nature of the sacraments both communal and personal. Special attention is given to the meaning of sacraments in contemporary times.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-23500 Marriage, Relationships, and Sexuality in Christian Tradition

Students will explore fundamental aspects of the Christian moral theological tradition with regard to marriage, relationships, and sexuality, assessing this tradition on its own merits and in relation to contemporary cultural contexts and questions.
3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-23600 Women and Religion

This course will focus on the lived religious experience of women in the three major monotheistic religions of the world—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The course perspectives will look at women as subjects and agents, not merely objects, of religious tradition, and explore persistent questions about women’s shaping of, and shaping by, religious traditions.
3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-23800 The American Catholic Experience

Students study the sociological, cultural and theological history of the Catholic Church in the United States, from colonial to modern times.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-25000 Foundations of Peace Studies

This course provides an overview of peace studies which examines human conflict and its peaceful transformation. Drawing from Catholic social teaching's imperatives, the emphasis will be on acquiring a justpeace lens in order to do social analysis through service learning and civic engagement.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-26100 Gospel of Mark

This course examines the gospel of Mark as a historical, literary, cultural and religious document. The gospel's origins and its message about Jesus and the church are explored and developed.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-26500 Religion and Literature

Students will engage religious and theological questions and biblical themes through the examination of selected genre(s) of imaginative fiction, which may include novels, short stories, and works of film and/or television.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-26700 Practicing Faithful Justice

This course will explore justice as understood through the lens of Christian social teachings. Engaged with the community through service learning, the course examines social realities and practical responses to address a variety of concerns affecting today’s marginalized and oppressed persons and communities.
3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-26800 Christian Social Teaching

This course considers how Christians are called to act in a world challenged by racism, poverty, consumerism and other complex, modern problems. Particular attention is given to the Roman Catholic perspective as expressed in Scripture, Church doctrine and papal teaching.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-27000 Christian Faith and the Arts

This course explores the ways in which religious faith and belief are expressed through the arts, including the visual and performing arts. The theatres, museums, concert halls and churches of Chicago and elsewhere may be used as resources for the class. This course is offered both as a traditional semester-long course and may also be offered as an accelerated travel course.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-28000 The Meaning of Jesus

This course centers on various ways to understand Christology, as well as the person and significance of Jesus of Nazareth. Biblical, classical and modern teachings are studied.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-28100 Christianity in Africa, Asia, and Latin America

The effects of Western Christianity, as well as the effects of colonialism and neo-colonialism on Third World peoples are studied. Students learn how Christianity is practiced among ordinary people in Asia, Latin America and Africa and how Christianity has been enculturated in non-western cultures.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-28500 Theologies of Liberation

This course focuses on theologies generated from Latin American, African-American, feminist and other perspectives, assessing the challenges and changes that marginalized perspectives bring to the traditional understanding of such theological topics as God, creation, human beings, salvation and the Holy Spirit.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600

THEO-29800 Christianity and World Religions

This course compares the teachings of Christianity with the teachings and practices of selected non-Christian religions, possibly including Native-American religious traditions, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. The aims of the course are to clarify similarities and differences between Christianity and other religions, to reflect on the problem posed by religious pluralism in modern culture, and to develop a Christian theology of world religions.

3

Prerequisites

THEO 10000 or THEO 10600