Religious Studies

B.A. Religious Studies

Our Religious Studies program is grounded in Roman Catholic theology and Marianist educational philosophy. And it stresses in-depth reflection on the nature of religious experience in the context of interfaith and multicultural dialogue in our communities and globally.

Students seek to explore the meaning of faith in action, the role of spiritual growth, and the importance of seeking justice through sacred service. Among the themes explored in both online and day courses: The historical development of Catholic theology, Christianity’s relationship with other major world religions, ethics and morality, and the Catholic intellectual tradition.

As a Catholic institution and one of only three Marianist universities in the nation, we are honored to offer this robust and action-oriented major at Chaminade. Graduates are prepared to teach in religious-affiliated schools, enter seminary or continue on to graduate studies.

Upon completion of the undergraduate B.A. program in Religious Studies, students will be able to:

Utilize the key concepts of Catholic theology in a critical reflection on integral human experience.
Engage in respectful dialogue on religious meaning in our globalized, multicultural society.
Employ Christian moral imagination in moral reasoning and decision making that affirms and/or challenges secular and cultural values.
Generate a substantive project that is animated by the Marianist Charism.

Required Coursework

Students working toward a Bachelor’s degree must complete a minimum of 120 credit hours of coursework, which includes general education requirements, electives, pre-major requirements (if applicable) and major requirements.

View a sample 4-year plan: Religious Studies

In addition to the general education requirements, these are the pre-major and major requirements below:

Pre-Major Requirements

RE 103 World Religions
Philosophy (choose one): PH 100 level courses

Choose one:

RE 205 The Christian God and Human Experience
RE 211 The Bible as Controversy

Major Requirements

RE 301 Jesus, God and Man
RE 308 Christian Ethics
RE 314 Hebrew Scriptures
RE 315 New Testament
Two upper division electives with a Christian studies emphasis

Spiritual (choose one):

RE 324 Sexuality in Christian Life
RE 326 Christian Prayer
RE 425 Religion, Science and the Modern Prospect

Asian (choose one):

RE 357 Christians and Buddhists in Dialogue
RE 359 India: Crossroads of Religions
RE 365 Introduction to Chinese Thought
RE 450 Hawaiian Oral and Religious Traditions
RE 455
RE 460 Buddhism
RE 461 Zen: Self, Being and Time
RE 469
RE 471 Taoism
RE 472 Confucianism

Capstone (choose one):

RE 390 Transformational Leadership
RE 490 Senior Seminar

Resources

Faculty

Our faculty members are leaders in their fields. They believe in the power of personal experience—stressing mentorship, collaboration and project-based learning inside and outside the classroom.

Meet Our Faculty

Accreditation

Chaminade University of Honolulu is accredited by WASC Senior College and University Commission.