The Religious Studies Department of Christian Brothers High School is “of one heart and mind…in bearing witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 4:32-33). As Catholic educators continuing the mission of St. John Baptist de La Salle, we love our students as younger brothers and sisters and invite them to a life of active faith through thoughtful instruction and attentive relationships.
RELIGIOUS STUDIES COURSE OFFERINGS 2012-2013
Course offerings are dependent upon enrollment class size criteria set by the administration.
Understanding Catholic Christianity 10 credits/year
•Required for all freshmen
This one-year course establishes a foundation for the key concepts of Catholic Christianity including faith, Catholic tradition, divine revelation, the Paschal Mystery, Sacraments, prayer, and social justice. Students will be introduced to the Lasallian tradition, and explore their own growth in human dignity through a study of human sexuality and relationship, wellness and prevention, and vocation. Students will explore the importance of charity in Christian Service Learning culminating in a local experience of Christian Service.
Hebrew Scripture and Christian Testament 10 credits/year
•Required course for all sophomores
In the first semester, students will explore the salvation history of the Israelites and its connection to Christian faith in the context of the Catholic interpretation of Sacred Scripture. Students will learn and apply the principles of Dei Verbum, Divina Afflante Spiritu, and modern biblical scholarship methods in their discovery of the Catholic interpretation of Sacred Scripture. In the second semester, students study the Gospels and other writings of the Christian Testament. Students will deepen their understanding of Christology, and will also reflect on their personal lives in response to Scripture through reflection, and prayer.
Church History 5 credits/semester
•Required course for all second semester juniors
Fall semester: This course examines Church history from its origins through modern times. Students examine and discuss the influence of Church documents originating from the Second Vatican Council. Key concepts include models of the Church, major events and movements in Church history, and witnesses of Christian faith.
Christian Morality 5 credits/semester
•Required course for all first semester juniors
Spring semester: This course provides students with a structure by which they can develop critical reasoning abilities that will assist in their evaluation of their personal and social moral behavior based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and of the Catholic Church. Students will focus on the Ten Commandments and their application in daily life. Key concepts include the ontology of the human person, contemporary moral issues, and an introduction to Catholic Social Teaching. Students will apply these concepts to issues they often encounter in teen life.
Senior Religion Electives
All seniors are required to take Comparative Religion.
Seniors must choose a second religion elective.
A third course may be taken as an elective.
Comparative Religion 5 credits/semester
*Required course for all seniors
In this one-semester course, students explore the origin and development of religion and examine the teachings and practices of the major religions of the world: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, and Islam. Students will have the opportunity to explore some of the spiritual practices of these traditions and seek to understand their relationship to each other, the individual and the transcendent. Each religion will be explored in comparison to the Catholic faith, upholding the spirit of the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate.
Social Justice 5 credits/semester
This one-semester course encourages students to examine upon the major social issues of our time—poverty, displacement, immigration, sexism, racism, peace, and environmental ethics—in light of Catholic Social Teaching. Students will be exposed to a variety of viewpoints as well as Catholic Church teaching regarding these issues, enabling them to analyze systems and structures that foster or inhibit human freedom. Students will explore contemporary issues and consider their own call to action in response to them. Students will have an opportunity to participate in Displace Me-homeless: a 24 hour on campus mini immersion on homelessness.
Prayer and Faith 5 credits/semester
This one-semester course is designed to encourage students to develop and express an understanding of their own personal faith. Throughout the course, students will explore a variety of forms of Christian and non-Christian prayer, Sacraments and worship with an emphasis in Catholic mass. Course participants will be expected to be responsible for planning and execution of school-wide liturgies.
The Mystery of Suffering and Death 5 credits/semester
This one-semester course will define “suffering” while comparing various theological and philosophical interpretations of its meaning. The course will compare various cultural approaches to death, burial rituals, and afterlife concepts. Catholic eschatology will be examined, as will the concept of evil and the salvific death and resurrection of Jesus. The course will also evaluate the Catholic moral position on end-of-life issues and engage students in the health care debate.
