Religious Studies

2022-2023 Possible Course Offerings (elective offerings may vary depending on interest; 4 credits to graduate + 0.5 credit Ignatian Encounter)

SCRIPTURE REQUIRED-FULL YEAR

This course is devoted to the study of the Bible and its impact on faith. Using the historical-critical method, primary

texts of both Jewish and Christian Scriptures are examined. In the light of Biblical revelation, students explore topics like divine and human nature, justice and compassion, the purpose of suffering, sin, morality, the identity of Jesus and the role of Christian community.

ENCOUNTERING JESUS IN THE SACRAMENTS REQUIRED-ONE SEMESTER

This sophomore course is designed to help students understand that they can encounter Jesus Christ today in a full and real way in and through the sacraments, and especially through the Eucharist. Students will not only examine each of the sacraments in detail so as to learn how they may encounter Christ throughout life but will explore many of the virtues of the sacramental life that support the sacraments themselves such as community life in the Spirit, repentance and forgiveness, abstinence, prayer, and discernment.

HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH REQUIRED-ONE SEMESTER

This sophomore course supplies students with a general knowledge of the Church’s history from apostolic

times to the present. Students will explore the major eras of Church history by encountering the Church’s “heroes” (martyrs, saints, theologians, activists, etc. in their context) who, sustained by Jesus and the Holy Spirit, have lived and preached the Gospel as covenant with God in their lives and in response to their times. Students will come to know that the Church is the People of God…living as the Body of Christ today.

LIVING THE PASCHAL MYSTERY REQUIRED-ONE SEMESTER

The purpose of this junior course is to invite students to view the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus as God’s promise and call to humanity to create a more loving and just world. With the Gospels and Catholic Social Teaching documents as guide, students will learn how Christ’s concern for those who suffer, especially the poor and marginalized, must not only be humanity’s concern but is the way to share in the redemption of Jesus Christ as a disciple, working in creation to receive the gift of salvation.

CHRISTIAN ETHICS AND MORALITY REQUIRED-ONE SEMESTER

The purpose of this junior course is to help students see God’s work in creation, especially the life of Jesus Christ, as the standard for moral and ethical action in human life. The course will explore modern ethical issues, outline moral concepts, and articulate how the Church comes to hold particular ethical/moral precepts as truth so that each student is able to apply these teachings to their current and future decision-making.

IGNATIAN ENCOUNTER REQUIRED-ONE SEMESTER

The Ignatian Encounter is completed by juniors either during the summer leading into their junior year or during the school year. The 40 hour service learning experience gives students the opportunity to explore and crystallize both the challenges and rewards of living a life for and with others. In consultation with the Office of Faith and Justice, students select a placement where they will spend their 40 hours. The grade for this project is based on student’s successful and diligent completion of his hours as well as the thoughtful completion of various reflection activities and attendance at cohort reflection groups.

The Ignatian Encounter will be placed on a student's spring junior year schedule 8th period, is a letter-graded course, and the Office of Faith and Justice will work with students to select the best window of time and agency that connects the student to an agency that meets his interests, his schedule, and the geographic area that works for him. Although the grade for Ignatian Encounter will show on a student's Spring transcript it is expected the he complete the course in either the summer, fall or spring semester. This process will be independently tracked by the Office of Faith and Justice.

HONORS IGNATIAN ENCOUNTER FULL YEAR: BY APPLICATION ONLY--FULFILLS THE JUNIOR-LEVEL REQUIREMENT OF LIVING THE PASCHAL MYSTERY, CHRISTIAN ATHICS AND MORALITY, AND IGNATIAN ENCOUNTER

Honors Ignatian Encounter is a year-long, junior-level Theology course that will explore the person of Jesus and different ethical paradigms in conjunction with direct service to the systemically oppressed in our community. The course integrates into one experience and satisfies the requirements of the Paschal Mystery, Ethics and Ignatian Encounter courses, and students will receive honors credit. During the course, students will engage in designing and writing academic research project connecting the content of the course with their lived experience in the Ignatian Encounter community. This course is designed in anticipation of and preparation for a senior-level living and learning community that is currently being designed for the 2018-2019 school year: the Brackley BUILD. Participants in Honors Ignatian Encounter will have the best chance of being selected for this latter learning experience.

SENIOR RELIGION COURSES

(All seniors are required to take Senior Synthesis and one Religious Studies elective of their choice. Students who apply for and are accepted into The Romero Program will have those requirements met within that course)

SENIOR SYNTHESIS REQUIRED-ONE SEMESTER

This is a senior course which provides an opportunity for seniors to bring together the various theological resources they have learned throughout their years at Brophy in order to equip themselves for a mature response to the challenges represented by their careers and the values of the society they are entering. The teachings of the Roman Catholic faith are presented as a model of consistent response to these challenges. Students are required to write a paper which summarizes the strength their faith provides them in the face of these challenges.

INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY ELECTIVE-ONE SEMESTER

This course provides a general consideration of human nature and the nature of the universe, knowledge, perception, freedom and determinism, and the existence of God. Students will identify and compare the various types of logical arguments, major philosophical views of reality, rationalist and empiricist theories of knowledge and at least one value theory. In addition to critically analyzing the major arguments for the existence of God, students will describe the problem of evil and examine religious explanations for the existence of evil.

THEODICY AND THE HOLOCAUST ELECTIVE-ONE SEMESTER (can count as EITHER the senior Religious Studies elective OR the senior Social Studies elective, but not both)

In Pope John Paul II’s 1998 letter regarding the Vatican’s publication of We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah, he wrote, “May the Lord of history guide the efforts of Catholics and Jews and all men and women of good will as they work together for a world of true respect for the life and dignity of every human being, for all have been created in the image and likeness of God.” In this spirit, “Theodicy and the Holocaust” seeks to examine the justice of God and the injustice of the Holocaust. Students will explore the history of Jewish-Christian relations and the birth of anti-Semitism, the role of anti-Semitism during the rise of the Third Reich, the evolution from persecution to the Final Solution, the religious and historical implications of the Holocaust, and theodicy in the modern world. This class will be uniquely team taught by a member of the Religious Studies Department and a member of the Social Studies Department.

THE IGNATIAN WORKOUT ELECTIVE-ONE SEMESTER

St. Ignatius of Loyola believed that we could know God better by paying attention to his work in our lives, our experiences, our imagination, and our feelings. This course will examen and embody St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises, using his "workouts" to teach you how to grow spiritually by learning to respond in concrete, practical ways to God's presence in your life. Prayer, reflection, and earnest engagement are expected.

CS LEWIS: APOLOGIST OF THE HEAD AND HEART ELECTIVE-ONE SEMESTER

This course offers students the opportunity to read and study the writings of CS Lewis to address social, political, and cultural trends. Students will utilize the philosophical and theological worldview of CS Lewis and his writings to engage topical issues and individual experience. The course will encourage students to use intellect and reason while appealing to issues of one's heart. CS Lewis experienced times of doubt in his early life and journeyed through various trials throughout his life, ultimately finding his way to Christ. The purpose of this course is to journey together through the works of CS Lewis (animated by our individual experiences) with hopes of finding meaningful encounters with Christ along the way.

SACRED LANDS OF ARIZONA ELECTIVE-ONE SEMESTER

“Your lives cry out against a style of life that is oblivious to its own real cost. You are a living memory of the mission that God has entrusted to us all: the protection of our common home.” These words from Pope Francis, spoken to Amazonian people in Peru in 2018, reflect the Church’s growing appreciation for the wisdom of indigenous cultures in caring for their lands and upholding integral ecology as a way of life. Applying this same appreciation to our local context, and recognizing that Brophy sits on native land, this class studies the worldviews and theologies of the native peoples of Arizona, such as the O’Odham, Apache, Navajo, and Hopi –– including spiritual understandings of specific locations, plants, animals, and natural phenomena –– in order to gain a new perspective on the beautiful Arizona land all around us and apply the principles of Catholic integral ecology to our daily lives. If possible, field trips to sacred sites in the Arizona landscape will be incorporated into class.

CHRISTIAN DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS ELECTIVE-ONE SEMESTER

Classic Christian Wisdom for Discerning Spirits

A study of the practice of the discernment of spirits as found in the Old and New Testaments, select Church Fathers, the desert tradition, writings of St. Ignatius of Loyola and Saint Teresa of Avila, and C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters in the 20th century. Possible excerpts from film series: Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter. Attention will be given to the distinction between “Discernment of Spirits” and “Discernment of God’s Will” properly so-called, and to questions regarding the existence and theological relevance of angels and demons. The culmination of this elective will be a mock spiritual direction meeting. Students will be asked to create scripted roles using the tactics and skills for the discernment of spirits they have learned in class.

THE ROMERO PROGRAM: COMPANIONS IN DISCIPLESHIP AND PRAXIS COMMUNITY FIELDWORK (PERIOD 7 ONLY) BY APPLICATION--FULL YEAR, (FULFILLS 0.5 SENIOR SYNTHESIS & 0.5 RELIGIOUS STUDIES ELECTIVE)

This Senior program aims to give students an experience of identifying and researching injustice in their community, having their hearts broken by the suffering of their neighbor, and working closely with community partners to design and enact projects that support the greater Phoenix area. Naturally but not exclusively flowing from the Honors Ignatian Encounter course, the program invites students to see how their faith, their intellectual life, and their work for justice are inextricably bound. This course is by application only, counts for Honors credit, and occupies both 6th and 7th periods both semesters.

Some senior Elective Arrupe Virtual Learning Institute Courses for 2022-2023 may be available; see AVLI link above left for more info; extra cost involved.