RELIGIOUS STUDIES CURRICULUM

Department Mission Statement

The Religious Studies Department of Immaculate Heart Academy is committed to proclaiming Gospel values by encouraging all students to open their hearts and minds to living the Good News of Jesus Christ so that they “Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” (St. Francis of Assisi) Thus, they are invited to respond to God’s invitation to live the teachings of Jesus Christ as lived through the Christian Catholic Traditions. We seek to develop and to promote the following in our students

  • To understand the basic doctrines of the Roman Catholic faith so that it is seen as more than a system of thought, or an ethic, but rather a way of life rooted in Jesus Christ who is the way to the Father
  • To recognize and respond to the call of God in her life by coming to a realization of her responsibility to be a woman of peace, justice and compassion in our world and as a woman made in the image and likeness of God, she will be encouraged to discover, embrace, and nurture, her innate human desire to be one with God in her spiritual journey.
  • A reverence for the sacramentality and mystery of the Catholic tradition in all of life and to embrace the centrality of the Eucharist in Christian worship
  • A living appreciation for the Church as a community of believing people who incarnate the Body of Christ in the world through belief, witness and active service to the community and to respect the richness and limitations of various cultures and religious traditions
  • To appreciate and support a student's unique journey of faith by affirming and empowering her full participation in the life and mission of the Church.

Curriculum Standards

(NOTE: The numbers are references to the Newark Archdiocesan Catechetical Curriculum Guidelines for High School Programs.)

STANDARD 1: The student will understand the basic doctrines of the Roman Catholic faith.

(0804)

STANDARD 2: The student will be able to apply the message of the Gospel in all aspects of life. (0803)

STANDARD 3: The student will be able to recognize and respond to the call of God in her life by coming to a realization of her responsibility to be a woman of peace, justice and compassion in our world. (0804)

STANDARD 4: The student will have a reverence for the sacramentality and mystery of the Catholic Tradition in all of life. (0805)

STANDARD 5: The student will understand that Catholic Christianity is more than system of thought, a philosophy, or an ethic, rather a way of life rooted in Jesus Christ, who is the way to the Father. (0806)

STANDARD 6: As a woman made in the image and likeness of God, the student will be encouraged to discover, embrace, and nurture, her innate human desire to be one with God in her spiritual journey. (0818; 0808)

STANDARD 7: The student will have a living appreciation of the Church as a community of believing people who incarnate the Body of Christ in the world through belief, witness, and active service to the community. (0806)

STANDARD 8: The student will be able to embrace the centrality of the celebration of the Eucharist in Christian worship. (0820)

STANDARD 9: The student will “respect the richness and the limitations of various cultures and religious traditions.” (0821)

Comparative World Religions: Goals and Course Outline

DEPARTMENT: Religious StudiesDATE: 2010-2011

COURSE TITLE: Comparative World ReligionsCOURSE NUMBER: 7345

 YEARQPA: 4.5

X SEMESTERCREDITS: 2.5

TEXTBOOK: (Title, Author, Publisher, Edition)

  • World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery by Jeffery Brodd(Winona, MN: Saint Mary’s Press, 2009, third edition)

GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION: This is a general survey course of several of the world’s oldest and most influential religions, as well as the religious traditions that have developed out of them. The course will focus on non-Christian traditions such as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and philosophies of the Far East. Students will acquire new insights and an understanding of the basic tenets and rituals of these and other faiths.

GENERAL COURSE OBJECTIVES: At the completion of this Religious Studies course, students will be able to:

  • Understand and appreciate various religious beliefs around the world;
  • Understand the truths and practices of these religions;
  • Dismiss false myths relating to religious thought and practice;
  • Identify the basic elements of creed, code, cult and community of each religion
  • Be knowledgeable of the origins of each religion
  • Have an understanding and appreciation of symbolism applicable to each religion

SPECIFIC COURSE OBJECTIVES: Based on the materials covered in the course, and at the completion of their studies in this course, students will be able to:

  • Identify and understand the major tenets and rituals of the major religions of the world.
  • Have an understanding of the influences of these religions on the global community.
  • Identify creed and code of the world’s major religions.
  • Exhibit knowledge of the historical foundations of these religions.
  • Exhibit knowledge of the differing spiritualities found among these religions.
  • Find sources of spiritual mysticism beneficial to their own spirituality.

COURSE OUTLINE AND MATERIALS COVERED:

  • Unit One: The Nature of Religious Tradition
  • Foundations of philosophical thought and religious practice
  • Seven Dimensions of Religion
  • Unit Two: The Monotheistic Religions
  • Part One: Zoroastrianism
  • Part Two: Judaism
  • The People of the Covenant
  • The People of the Law
  • Medieval and Modern Judaism
  • Major beliefs and practices
  • The rites of passage in Judaism
  • Part Three: Christianity
  • The New Covenant
  • The Law of Love
  • Developments and Divisions
  • Christianity in the Modern and Post-Modern world
  • Part Four: Islam
  • Life of Muhammad
  • Major beliefs and practices
  • Major sects
  • Unit Three: The South Asian Religions
  • Major beliefs and practices in Hinduism
  • Festivals and celebrations in Hinduism
  • Hinduism in the Modern World
  • The Hindu influence on other religions
  • Jainism and Sikhism
  • Influence of Hinduism in the development of Jain and Sikh belief
  • Jainism and Sikhism in the Modern World
  • Unit Four: Buddhism and Zen
  • Historical foundations and the life of Buddha
  • Monastic life and spiritual development
  • Basic tenets of Buddhist life and practice
  • Zen
  • Buddhism and Zen in the Modern World
  • Unit Five: Philosophies and Religions of the Far East
  • Role of Confucius and Lao Tse
  • Basic tenets and symbols of Confucian and Taoist thought and practice
  • Role of Shinto, the Japanese national religion
  • Unit Six: Alternative Paths and the Modern Search for Religion
  • Wicca and Druidism
  • Cults and sects
  • Theosophy
  • Scientology
  • Modernism
  • Science and technology
  • The Woman’s movement
  • Secularism
  • Ethical Issues

Comparative World Religions: Unit Proficiencies

Students will be able to…

Unit One: The Nature of Religious Tradition

  • Investigate the basic human questioning of nature and the world
  • Discuss why religion is necessary
  • Debate why it is important or necessary to study religions
  • Evaluate possible patterns among religions
  • Compare and contrast the different approaches to studying different religions
  • Critically evaluate the social, cultural and political issues surrounding religions
  • Investigate modern Indigenous Religions and how they address modern questions.

Unit Two: The Monotheistic Religions

  • Analyze Jewish history in light of its religious significance
  • Identify the different stages in Jewish religious history, including Abraham and the Patriarchs, Biblical History and the First Temple era, the Diaspora and Rabbinical Judaism, the Holocaust and Judaism in the Modern world
  • Compare and contrast the elements of Rabbinical Judaism with early Christianity
  • Chart the development of Christianity from a Jewish sect to a Greco-Roman religious and philosophical system
  • Identify the major stages of development of Christian doctrine
  • Interpret the divisions in Christianity
  • Analyze Islam as an offshoot and refinement of Judaism and Christianity
  • Evaluate and discuss the basic beliefs of the Koran
  • Debate the application of Islam in the modern world.

Unit Three: The South Asian Religions

  • Assess the origins of Hinduism
  • Compare and contrast the understanding of the Divine in Hinduism with the monotheistic religions
  • Discuss the social and political implications of Hinduism and the caste system
  • Experience the concepts of Yoga and Devotional Hinduism
  • Debate the application of Hinduism in the modern world
  • Evaluate the concepts of ahimsa, ascension and the human condition in the Jain universe
  • Discuss non-violence in the South Asian religions
  • Identify the concepts of God, humanity and salvation in Sikhism and the Sikh religious life.

Unit Four: Buddhism and Zen

  • Investigate the historical beginnings of Buddhism in the life of the historical Buddha
  • Compare and contrast the “Three Marks of Reality” and the Four Noble Truths”
  • Compare and contrast the three Buddhism movements or schools: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana
  • Evaluate Zen and discuss the concept of Zen in light of Western notions.

Unit Five: The East Asian Religions

  • Exhibit knowledge of the historical foundations of the Confucian, Tao and Shinto ways of life.
  • Evaluate the different philosophies and spiritualities found among these religious traditions
  • Investigate these traditions in the light of political systems of the region: which came first, religion or politics?
  • Debate whether Confucianism, Taoism and Shinto can be called “religions.”

Unit Six: Alternative Paths and the Modern Search for Religions

  • Illustrate how the origins of new “religions” reflects the typical pattern of human longing
  • Compare and contrast “New Age” Wicca and Druidism with traditional “Old Age” patterns
  • Analyze how modern cults and sects can become dangerous religious movements
  • Investigate fringe religious movements, including theosophy, Scientology, Modernism and Secularism
  • Evaluate how modern religious movements can affect science and technology, ethical issues and political causes.