Edit "Page Body"

Chairperson: Susan K. Wood, SCL, Ph.D.
Department of Theology website

Mission

The Department of Theology concentrates on theological studies as distinguished from a purely empirical study of religion and from professional training for the ministry. Theology at Marquette explores faith and what it has to say about the fundamental purpose and meaning of all things, including our own existence. It seeks the deeper unity underlying all reality, its common origin and ultimate purpose.

The Department of Theology aims to help educate undergraduates by bringing them to an understanding of their respective faith commitments and traditions in harmony with their overall intellectual, critical and cultural development. The department also incorporates into Catholic theology an ecumenical dimension which was made normative by the Second Vatican Council, and which is regarded by the department as an essential service to the Church and the world. Theological questions evoke distinctive responses from the various religious perspectives represented in contemporary society. The department respects the various faith traditions of its students and works for mutual understanding among different faiths.

Program Goals

Students are able to take courses in Scripture, the history of Christian thought, Christian doctrine and world religions. They explore the relationship between faith and justice in accordance with the recent General Congregations of the Society of Jesus.

In the undergraduate program students will:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the basic categories of theological reflection: Biblical, historical, systematic and ethical.
• Analyze texts for their theological content according to their particular literary genres and historical contexts.
  
• Use effective theological methods of research and argumentation.

Back To Top

Theology Curriculum

The University Core of Common Studies (UCCS) theology requirement for graduation is the six-hour sequence of two courses: THEO 1001 Introduction to Theology and any second-level course (THEO 2000 level) approved for inclusion in the UCCS (approved courses are listed in this bulletin); the Arts and Sciences College curriculum theology requirement is the full sequence of THEO 1001 Introduction to Theology, a second-level course and any third-level course (THEO 4000-4995). Students may choose as electives additional courses, beyond the requirements of their college, from both the second- and third-level offerings, if they have the proper prerequisites.

The comprehensive educational goal of the theology curriculum is theological literacy at the level legitimately expected of graduates of a Catholic university. Through investigation of various theological sources, this intellectual formation habituates students to approaches, responses and critiques appropriate to the academic discipline of theology, which is “faith seeking understanding.” Three specific objectives guide the theology curriculum. Every course is designed, first, to increase the student’s awareness of the mystery and religious dimensions of human life, particularly as conveyed in the basic narrative outline of salvation history — which characterizes the Christian worldview — from creation to fulfillment in Jesus Christ. This objective takes precedence in the first course, THEO 1001 Introduction to Theology; this first-level course introduces key sources and questions of theology, at the same time that it provides the student with a necessary knowledge base.

While cultivating the student’s growing base of factual knowledge, courses go on to provide the student with training in theological understanding, primarily through the reading and interpreting of significant texts. Second-level courses, with their objective of “Exploring Theological Texts and Interconnections” — especially regarding representations of God, religious community and the human person — are designed to develop the skills required for such understanding. The knowledge and skills garnered in second-level courses are essential background for enabling students to achieve the objectives of the third-level courses.

Third-level courses, by investigating particular theological topics with discipline-specific methods, develop in students the critical habit of seeing into the depth-dimension of reality in light of religious faith and its historical effects on human societies. A wide variety of third-level classes, all building on the first-level and the second-level courses, develop this critical habit in the student. Third-level offerings include interdisciplinary courses to investigate theological questions; courses that focus on a particular person, time period or topic; courses that examine the impact of religion on our daily lives and courses that explore non-Christian religious traditions. As the culmination of the three-course sequence, these courses aim to produce Jesuit university graduates who are able to discern the perennially significant in the complexity and conflicting values of modern life, “men and women for others,” intellectually prepared to “find God in all things.” Building on the achievements of the first-level and second-level courses, third-level courses aim in a special way to encourage students to become responsible citizens, drawn to the intellectual life, knowledgeable about their own religious traditions and appreciative of the religious beliefs and practices of others in the human community.

In all courses, theological issues are introduced and discussed with respect for others in keeping with the Declaration on Religious Liberty of the Second Vatican Council.

Edit "Major: Theology" Edit "Major: Theology for Catholic School Ministry" Edit "Minor: Theology"