Welcome to Bowen Junior Religion! All assignments and announcements for this course will be posted on Finalsite (accessed through I encourage all parents who are interested to see what their sons are studying to log in occasionally to look at the topics. As parents, you are the primary educators of your children, especially in matters of faith and morals. If you have any concerns or questions at any time about what we are discussing in class please feel free to email me at .
In this class we will ultimately explore how the Judeo-Christian faith impacts our understanding of right and wrong, good and evil, sin and virtue. In my experience, the Junior year involves a certain awakening of autonomy and responsibility in most students. From the start I am clear that I do not intend to test their faith, but to encourage an honest look at it. The goal is that by the end, students will see faith as not only reasonable but also a viable path to truth and happiness. The course is divided into 2 semesters.
Semester 1:
Before we talk about faith, we will begin with what it means to be human. Our starting point for this is social psychology, where we investigate innate human tendencies which could potentially conflict with a traditional sense of right and wrong.
From there we will survey some great philosophicalideas on how to determine right and wrong. From Plato and Aristotle to Immanuel Kant, from rights to utility. After this overview we will then turn to the Judeo-Christian Tradition. Does faith conflict with psychology or philosophy?
In the last part of the semester, an investigation of the Catholic “worldview” helps students recall and synthesize the aspects of Catholic faith they have studied thus far at Prep. As we look at traditional Jewish and Christian scriptural moral norms we see them in light of the their historical context, as well as in light of social psychology, philosophy, and what it means to be human.
Semester 2:
The second part of the course goes beyond a sense of personal morality to seeing ourselves as part of a community of persons. Here we will look at the concept of justice, from ancient Israel to the modern day. Catholic Social Teaching presents us with values to guide our social existence and helps us to dig more deeply into what it means to be a “Man for others”. In the second semester we frequently have speakers come in to address the boys about how the pursuit of justice intersects with many professions, issues, and lifestyles they are likely to encounter.