Undergraduate Theology Core Curriculum Courses
Theo 11 Faith, Spirituality and the Church
This course introduces first year students to faith and spirituality as integral, intelligible dimensions of human life that are essential to the pursuit of wholeness in one’s self and in the world today. This study is undertaken through the lens of a particular community, the Catholic Church, and focuses on Christianity’s central figure, Jesus, as presented in the Bible, other normative texts, and contemporary practices, in dialogue with other worldviews such as those of postmodernity, atheism, agnosticism, and secular humanism. A major component of the course is the students’ articulation and analysis of their own faith-narratives that highlight the journey of transformation among people of faith and faith’s personal-yet-ecclesial dimensions.
Theo 12 Theology of the Catholic Social Vision
The Theology 12 course studies the ecclesial and communal dimensions of the Christian faith with an emphasis on Catholic social teaching. It explores the question of what it means to be a Christian and Church in today’s wounded and broken world. The course provides students with the opportunity to enter into dialogue and direct personal contact with individuals and communities living on the margins of Philippine society. In the context of these encounters, students critically reflect upon the signs of the times and their own lifestyles, employing other disciplines to analyze social realities. This analysis is brought into dialogue with Scripture and the Christian tradition toward developing a faith-inspired, interdisciplinary view of Philippine society and the planet. The faith vision that emerges challenges students to live in solidarity with those on the margins through a spirituality that is responsive to the situation and needs of our people and committed to justice in collaboration with all peoples of good will.
Theo 13 A Theology of Marriage, Family and Vocation
As a response to the question, “What is my role in the greater scheme of things?”, Theo 13 begins with a discussion of the human person created in God’s image. This is the basis for the vocation to love (FC 11) and holiness (LG 39-42) in accord with one’s meaning and purpose (Spiritual Exercises, 23). Particular emphasis will be given to marriage as both a human institution and as a sacramental reality, and the family as a domestic Church. The course will examine specific questions of sexual morality, and challenges confronting the Filipino family in its call to solidarity and the common good.
Interdisciplinary Electives
Theo 36i Food Justice: Perspectives from Theology, Ecofeminism and the Social Science
This course facilitates an expression of just food policies and food systems growing from the experience of the global food crisis, emphasized in the UN SDG #22: Zero Hunger. The food justice movement is consistent with the Catholic mission of temporal liberation for the marginalized. Christ invites the Church to build the Kingdom of God in the world, and to do so, the Church responds to the call to feed the hungry, drawing guiding principles from the social sciences, , ecofeminism, Sacred Scripture, Tradition and the very human experience of food of people around the world and in the Philippines today.
Theo 114.03i “Let the Little Children Come to Me”: Teaching Catechism to Urban Poor Children
This course is an introduction to the teaching of the catechism to children in urban poor communities. Methods and concepts from development psychology, child education, and theology are used to discuss the practice of teaching the faith. The primary goal of the course is for students to explain the key pedagogical, psychological and catechetical concepts from the fields mentioned and apply these in designing and implementing a catechetical ground plan. Students will learn by doing - as the course progresses, students will be given opportunities to gradually construct the ground plan. The course draws inspiration from “Let the little children come to me…” (Matthew 9:14).