The Theology and Religious Studies Department contributes to students’ intellectual growth by helping them develop the skills and knowledge to engage critically and effectively with the multi-religious dimensions of human life. Students approach the study of Theology and Religious Studies in an integrated manner where they are introduced to multiple aspects of religion such as beliefs, faith, rituals, ethics, spirituality, and sacred texts.
In keeping with the Jesuit, Catholic commitment of Seattle University, the Theology and Religious Studies department emphasizes an in depth study of the Catholic tradition in dialogue with other religious and secular perspectives. In addition, students study the internal diversity within Christianity and other religious traditions such as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. Theology and Religious Studies at Seattle University addresses the experiences and realities of oppressed peoples and the integral relationship between religion and social justice in local and global contexts.
The curriculum of the department of Theology and Religious Studies invites students to reflect upon their own experiences and questions about ultimate reality and provides the skills and understandings that the academic discipline offers to address such experiences and questions.
Students need not practice or identify with a particular religious tradition in order to grasp its central ideas and engage in the process of critical reflection that reinterprets tradition and discerns its values. The department invites all to join in exploring questions that are fundamental in human life and deserving of attention by each student as part of a Jesuit education.
Degrees offered:
BA, specialization in Christian Theology
BA, specialization in Comparative Religion
minor