Theology

Theology Mission Statement

The Mission of the Priory Theology Department is to provide a safe and open atmosphere in which students examine the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Roman Catholic Church, the Benedictine tradition, and other major philosophical, religious, and spiritual paths. As teachers of Theology we bear witness to our faith, and we invite our students to explore the vision and values of that faith in their own life issues, personal values, and the values of contemporary society. We foster meaningful, authentic and balanced lives in community and in service to the world.

Theology Curriculum Trajectory

The Priory’s Middle School theology curriculum introduces students to the world of the Bible. Students study Catholic and other religious traditions, and the practice of Priory’s Benedictine values. There is a focus on personal identity, on social justice, and on service to others. Middle School students begin to explore and develop an understanding of their lives as a spiritual journey.

The Priory’s Upper School theology curriculum examines the Benedictine values as the foundation of students’ high school spiritual journey with special attention given to the moral concerns of conscience, character, and choice informed by Roman Catholic teaching. More in-depth study of biblical narratives culminates in an understanding of the role of Jesus Christ in salvation history. Social justice issues are of major importance in both Core and Elective courses. Elective courses deal with a range of topics such as Benedictine leadership, various special moral issues (as in Bioethics), world religions, atheism and faith, and other areas of more in-depth study (e.g., the Holocaust, ethical concerns of globalization, and Jesus Christ as “superhero,”). [Upper School Core Courses required for all students are: Basic Beliefs and Values, Hebrew Scriptures, Christian Scriptures, and Virtue Ethics; 2 Elective courses complete the 6 Theology courses required for graduation.]

Basic Beliefs & Values

Course Length: Semester
Open to Grades: 9
Prerequisites: None

Estimated hours of homework per class period: None
Graduation Requirement: Yes

The guiding assumption of this course is that the Benedictine values of hospitality, spirituality, community, integrity, and individuality are universally relevant for the formation of a vibrant learning community and an authentic, meaningful, and balanced life. This course lays the foundation for theological studies in the Priory high school. Students will learn how Roman Catholic faith is expressed through Benedictine Spirituality, which is the root of our community's shared basic beliefs and values. Students will assess the merit of this 1,500-year-old spiritual tradition in juxtaposition with 1) their own familial and/or cultural heritage, 2) their 21st c. sensibilities and 3) their emerging adolescent identities.
Christian Scriptures

Course Length: Semester
Open to Grades: 10
Prerequisites: Basic Beliefs & Values and Hebrew Scriptures

Estimated hours of homework per class period: 20-30 minutes
Graduation Requirement: Yes

Following 9th grade Hebrew Scriptures, this semester course delves into the Christian Scriptures. Through the power of story, students will explore the Gospel accounts of Jesus Christ, focusing on his mission, message, relationships, and the historical, social, and religious impact of Christ’s death and resurrection. Using theological lenses, students will practice interpreting Scripture and reflecting on the Gospel’s implications for the context of Jesus’s world and the world today. As students grapple with how the Gospel stories call them to reflect on their own values and identity, the course hopes to spark curiosity, cultivate compassion, and create connections for spiritual growth.
Hebrew Scriptures

Course Length: Semester
Open to Grades: 9
Prerequisites: None

Estimated hours of homework per class period: None
Graduation Requirement: Yes

This course is an introductory survey of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament as viewed in its historical and cultural setting in the ancient Near East and as received and interpreted within the Jewish and Christian traditions. The course will examine the content, literary relationships, and editorial evolution of the biblical texts. The role of women will be considered from social, literary, and cultural perspectives. The course will also be multidisciplinary through tracking the thirty centuries of creative interaction between the texts of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and culture, i.e., in art, music, literature, and cinema.
Leadership in the Benedictine Tradition

Course Length: Semester
Open to Grades: 10, 11, 12
Prerequisites: Basic Beliefs & Values and Hebrew Scriptures

Estimated hours of homework per class period: Up to 30 minutes
Graduation Requirement: No

The Servant Leadership in the Benedictine Tradition course is a Theology elective that teaches practical and spiritual development toward leadership for the good of the Priory community’s spiritual offerings and a wider world in need of students’ gifts. Students will take a leadership and personality assessment to better understand their particular approach to leadership. They will learn about leadership through the 1500 year old lens of the Benedictine tradition and how they can apply this in our modern context. Students will develop and practice skills of story-writing and storytelling, contemplative listening, group facilitation and project management. The praxis element of this course will be that students enrolled will participate in leading the retreats for their peers during the semester they are in the course.
Pop Goes Religion

Course Length: Semester
Open to Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Prerequisites: None

Estimated hours of homework per class period: 0-1 hour
Graduation Requirement: Fulfills 1 of 6 required Theology classes.

Pop! Goes Religion seeks to analyze the interplay between popular culture and religious influences. Our culture’s popular ideas, products, and practices reflect our own unique postmodern perspectives on spirituality and religion, juxtaposing the secular with the sacred through satire, science fiction, literary narrative, cultural mythology, advertising, social media, and mass-market entertainment.
Sacred Art

Course Length: Semester
Open to Grades: 10-12 (Note: can only be taken Semester 2 of grade 10 if Christian Scriptures is completed in Semester 1)
Prerequisites: Three Theology courses (Basic Beliefs and Values, Hebrew Scriptures, and Christian Scriptures) and one Visual Arts course (eg Glass 1)
Estimated hours of homework per class period: Periodic homework in the form of research is to be expected. Coursework is normally done during class time; however, incomplete tasks must be completed outside of class.
Graduation Requirement: Satisfies one semester of Visual Arts requirement OR one semester of Theology requirement.

A studio art course that seeks to ask students to consider the relationship between the physical world and the spiritual world. The course will develop the contemplative practice of exploring symbols of belief through the creation of art. The 2-dimensional work of this studio practice will be framed by a discussion about sacred symbols of meaning in the human experience, and of the creative processes involved in forming expressions of spirituality.
Social Justice

Course Length: Semester
Open to Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Prerequisites: None
Estimated hours of homework per class period: 0-15 minutes
Graduation Requirement: Fulfills 1 of 6 required Theology classes.

In this course, students root themselves in a foundation of Catholic Social Teaching (CST), learning and reflecting on the rich tradition of social justice within Catholicism, pertinent documents and encyclicals, and the seven themes of CST. Students will then integrate these themes into the See-Judge-Act process in order to examine current social injustices and their impacts on various populations. Students will be challenged to think about the social, political, and economic realities of our country and our world in light of the Gospel messages of love, service, and justice.

Students will be able to take the lessons learned from previous Theology courses and give them real-world context. Ideally, this would be taken after Virtue Ethics, scaffolding from the foundation of conscience, character, choice, and community while building toward issues of social justice, where one’s character and conscience inform one’s choices which, in turn, affect the community.
Virtue Ethics

Course Length: Semester
Open to Grades: 11, 12
Prerequisites: Students must take Basic, Belief & Values, Hebrew Scriptures, and Christian Scriptures.

Estimated hours of homework per class period: 15-30 minutes
Graduation Requirement: Required Class. Must be taken either during 11th and 12th grade.

Previously named: Morality & Social Justice; Moral Foundations
This course will examine three faces of Christian ethics: character, choices, and community and the interplay among all three. Students will be challenged to engage critically with the complexities of the moral experience at the very center of our human identity, and the demands of a commitment to become a moral agent. Special consideration will be given to the power of stories to guide, shape, and transform our lives.
World Religions

Course Length: Semester
Open to Grades: 10, 11, 12
Prerequisites: None
Graduation Requirement: Fulfills 1 of 6 required Theology classes.

This Upper School elective embraces both Eastern and Western religions and spiritual traditions. The segment on Eastern Philosophies and Religions focuses principally on Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. The other segment of the World Religions elective concentrates principally on the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

This course’s East-West focus is meant to build on students’ previous knowledge of World Religions, reviewing and expanding their knowledge base while encouraging personal reflection on and internalizing of the spiritual and ethical values that the various philosophies and religions offer.

The particular philosophies and religions represented in the course have merited longstanding recognition and honor. They are influential in our world today, continuing to shape history and culture, philosophy and spirituality, and moral stances on challenges humankind faces in the 21st century.