2007-08 Academic Catalog	home FAQs request

RELIGION

Programs offered:

•  Major in Religion (9.0 course credits)
•  Minor in Religion (5.0 course credits)

Religion Course Descriptions 

Faculty
Roy Hammerling, chair
Tamara S.J. Lanaghan
James W. Aageson
Michelle M. Lelwica
Per M. Anderson
Jan H. Pranger
Shawn Carruth 
Ernest L. Simmons Jr.
Stewart W. Herman 
Elna K. Solvang
Hilda Koster

The study of religion is an important component of the academic program at Concordia. Religious beliefs and practices organize human life around ultimate commitments and concerns. Understanding the varied forms and elements of the religious life contributes to quality liberal arts learning and to personal enrichment through engagement with perennial questions about meaning, truth and value. Because of the mission of the college and the pervasive presence and influential role of religion in human affairs, students at Concordia are required to take 2.0 credits in religion courses as part of the Core Curriculum requirement and may also elect to major or minor in religion. All Concordia graduates, as liberally educated persons, should have a working understanding of the main lines of the Christian tradition within the religions of humankind and of the academic study of religion. Required Core courses and elective study programs offer students various opportunities to acquire broad knowledge and enduring critical skills for informed religious involvement and lifelong learning.

Departmental courses are organized around four study areas:

•  Interpretive Studies
•  Historical Studies
•  Comparative Studies
•  Constructive Studies

These four headings represent different ways in which humans practice religion and different ways in which religious phenomena can be studied: writing and enacting religion, forming and transmitting religion, relating and differentiating religion, and revising and appropriating religion.

Students can earn an honors major for superior achievement in coursework by departmental faculty election. Upon the recommendation of the department’s assessment committee, honors will be awarded on the basis of a portfolio of papers including the research seminar paper. Honors will be awarded during the second semester of the senior year. Honors majors will give a public presentation.

The religion department provides learning experiences that prepare students to achieve the following outcomes:

• communicate verbally in a manner that is comfortable, coherent and clear
• write well
• be capable of critical thinking
• demonstrate an in-depth competency in one methodology (interpretive, historical, comparative, constructive) appropriate to the study of religion and a broad knowledge of the other three areas
• value scholarship
• develop tolerance and respect for religious traditions other than their own, based on understanding

Liberal Arts Core Requirement in Religion

The Core requirement in religion for graduation is 2.0 course credits:

•  REL 100 — Christianity and Religious Diversity, 1.0 credit.
This course introduces students to the academic study of religion and to Christianity and should be taken during the freshman or sophomore year.
•  1.0 credit to be taken from the following courses during the junior or senior year. These courses are designed to build upon REL 100 — Christianity and Religious Diversity and to support in-depth examination of various topics through the four study areas described above:
–  REL 313 — Jesus the Jew — Jesus the Christ, 1.0 credit
–  REL 314 — Paul: Apostle or Apostate, 1.0 credit
–  REL 316 — Texts and Community in the Old Testament, 1.0 credit
–  REL 324 — The Legacy of Luther, 1.0 credit
–  REL 325 — Studies in Religious History, 1.0 credit
–  REL 326 — Christian Theologies and Ethics, 1.0 credit
–  REL 334 — Monotheisms: Jewish, Christian and Muslim, 1.0 credit
–  REL 338 — Religions of Asia, 1.0 credit
–  REL 339 — World Christianity, 1.0 credit
–  REL 342 — God — The Question and the Quest, 1.0 credit
–  REL 344 — Christian Ethics in Human Community, 1.0 credit
–  REL 349 — Christian Ethics in the Material World, 1.0 credit
–  REL 372 — Christian Spirituality, 1.0 credit
–  REL 382 — Religion and the Body, 1.0 credit

Liberal Arts Core Distribution World Languages Requirement

Students may satisfy the Core distribution world languages requirement through one of the following options:

1.  Successful completion of the REL 211-212 sequence — Biblical Hebrew I and II
2.  Successful completion of the departmental proficiency examination. Entering students who have studied Hebrew should also take the proficiency exam to determine whether they should enroll in REL 211 — Biblical Hebrew I or REL 212 — Biblical Hebrew II.

Major in Religion

The requirements for a major in religion are 9.0 course credits. Religion 100 and Religion 300J core courses are counted in the nine courses for the major. Students should normally declare a major by the end of the sophomore year and develop a plan of study in consultation with a department adviser. Beyond meeting the Core religion requirement, majors are required to take:

• REL 100 — Christianity and Religion Diversity, 1.0 credit
• 4.0 credits (1.0 credit from each study area). The Religion 300J core requirement counts as a course in one of the areas of study.
• 3.0 additional credits in religion, which may include REL 211 — Biblical Hebrew I and REL 212 — Biblical Hebrew II.
• REL 410 – Research Seminar, 1.0 credit. This course is offered during the fall semester and should be taken during the senior year. Students who expect to be studying off campus that semester should take the Research Seminar during the junior year. Students may count 1.0 credit in REL 390 — Cooperative Education or 1.0 credit from REL 490 — Practicum toward the major. Students may transfer 4.0 course credits (16 semester hours) from outside the college.

Minor in Religion

The minor in religion can be used for different educational goals. Students may wish to concentrate in a certain study area. They may wish to select courses to complement a major course of study or for personal enrichment. The requirements for a minor in religion are 5.0 course credits. Religion 100 and Religion 300J courses are counted in the five-course requirements for a minor. REL 211 — Biblical Hebrew I and REL 212 — Biblical Hebrew II may also be counted for a minor. Students are encouraged to develop a plan for their course of study with a religion department adviser. Students may select any religion courses beyond those meeting the Core religion requirement, except for REL 390 — Cooperative Education and REL 490 — Practicum. Students should normally declare a minor by the end of the junior year. Students may transfer 2.0 course credits (8 semester hours) from outside the college.