Santa Clara University

13. Religious Studies

PURPOSE: The third course in the Religious Studies Core sequence, taken after the student has junior status, models ongoing intellectual engagement with the difficult issues in religion as these are addressed by one of the three main areas of the religion curriculum. This course is structured around open-ended questions, problems, or controversies; it requires students to explore and assess multiple positions and then make morally defensible and intellectually coherent choices.

STUDENT OUTCOMES: During the last course in the sequence, students will be able to use their analytic skills on real-life questions and current challenges. By confronting the complexity of questioning while taking a moral or religious position, this course enables students to integrate what they have learned about religion with other areas of the Core, their majors, and their full involvement in the world.

Note: The prerequisites for all religious studies courses require that they be taken in sequence: introductory, second course, and third course. Further, a third course cannot fulfill the core requirement unless it is taken after the student has 88 units.

THIRD COURSE: Students may select one course from Religious Studies courses numbered 100-199, such as RSOC 100-199, SCTR 100-199, or TESP 100-199, or from the following list of approved courses. Note: the third course must be taken after completing 88 units.

Anthropology

150 Religion in Culture and Society

Biology

171 Ethical Issues in Biotechnology and Genetics

Classics

112 The World of St. Augustine
114 Religion and Imperialism: Roman Britain

Communication

175A Theology and Communication

Electrical Engineering

160 Chaos Theory: Mathematics and the Limits of Science: An Engineering Perspective on Religion

Environmental Studies

162 Environmental Justice Practicum
163 Faith, Ethics and Biodiversity

History

103 History of the Jesuits
114 Religion and Imperialism: Roman Britain
117 State and Church in the Middle Ages 1000-1450
121 Interpreting the English Reformation
126 Conflicts in Medieval Christianity
127 The World of St. Francis
164 The Catholic Church in Latin America

Philosophy

151 Philosophical Topics in Film and Literature

Political Science

139 Religion and Politics in the Developing World
183R Religion and Politics in the International System

The quarterly Schedule of Classes provides a comprehensive list of those courses offered in a particular quarter that meet this requirement.