Santa Clara University

Mission and Goals

The Department of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University understands the study of religion to be disciplined, intellectual inquiry into the religious dimensions of human existence. It works to make this inquiry central to the intellectual life of our students through both its undergraduate program in religious studies and Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries. In general, all department courses seek to develop a critical understanding of religious ways of thinking, an appreciation of different religious traditions, an ability to reflect ethically and exercise leadership in action, and a curiosity about the more significant questions of human life beyond the classroom.

The department is diverse in its subjects and methodologies. This is reflected in the professional research of its faculty and its various styles of teaching: from engagement of faith issues to social-scientific methods of analysis. Diversity is also reflected in the three undergraduate areas of specialization:

1. Scripture and Tradition
2. Theology, Ethics, and Spirituality
3. Religion and Society

and in the inclusion of the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries with emphases in Catechetics, Liturgy, Spirituality, and Liturgical Music.

The department's goals are linked to its distinctive feature as a department:

First, the three-course undergraduate requirement is sequential, engaging students at different developmental stages of their education. This sequence has the potential to synthesize and animate a student's intellectual life at Santa Clara. The department also supports the core curriculum by offering courses that integrate a number of core concerns: writing skills, ethics, world cultures, gender, and technology. Similarly, the department participates in the cross-disciplinary minor in Catholic Studies, the Honors program, the Freshman Residential Community, and other programs involving integrated education and community learning and service.

Second, the Department of Religious Studies provides a special opportunity to study Christian faith and values in depth and in conjunction with the study of world religions and timely religious issues.

Third, the diversity and size of the department give religious studies majors and minors the opportunity for personal interaction with the faculty and individual mentoring.

Fourth, the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries, located in the School of Education, Counseling Psychology, and Pastoral Ministries, provides a link to the larger community and culture in which both the University and the Church must have a voice.