The Theology Department of Villa Maria Academy recognizes its unique role in the educational ministry of the Church and its specific implications for this school. The Theology Department seeks to offer leadership, vision and inspiration within a school whose mission is firmly rooted in the Gospel and steeped in Catholic tradition. In an effort to respond faithfully to the goals set forth in the “Declaration on Christian Education”, we define our program and purpose, “… to inspire the student with the Spirit of Christ, to help to bring to maturity the gifts and talents of each student, and to direct all students to become involved in transforming their world into God’s Kingdom.” These goals offer an attitudinal, cognitive, and affective dimension as we seek to transmit a spirit of faith and to teach Theology as an academic discipline with specific, measurable objectives. It is the integration of these dimensions that provides the challenge as we seek to lead young women to live lives of spiritual growth, intellectual inquiry, and Christian service.

Four years of Theology are required of our students for graduation, including attendance at the annual class Retreat.

The Hebrew Scriptures (160)

Grade 9

Credit 0.5

College Prep

The Hebrew Scriptures course seeks to guide students to a more thorough understanding and a more mature appreciation of God’s revelation to the People of Israel. Students investigate, through a survey reading of the Old Testament, the kinds of literature and literary devices used to communicate God’s revelation about who God is, who we are, and what our relationship with God and each other should be. This Divine Revelation gradually unfolds through Jewish history. Students are encouraged to reflect on God’s call and action within their own lives as their own salvation history. They are challenged to respond to God’s love as it unfolds in their everyday experiences and relationships.

Overview of Catholicism (161)

Grade 9

Credit 0.5

College Prep

The Overview of Catholicism course helps to form teenagers in the beliefs, moral values, and practices of the Catholic faith. Using the beliefs expressed in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds and the Catechism as the foundation, the course examines the four pillars of the faith: what we believe, how to pray, how to celebrate what we believe in the sacraments, and to how live according to our faith in moral truth. It also examines how young people can grow in the practice of the faith and in one’s personal relationship with Jesus.

New Testament (162)

Grade 10

Credit 0.5

College Prep

The course on New Testament focuses on Jesus as the center of God’s saving plan and, while it presents an overview of the entire New Testament along with the history and culture of the time, it especially shows how the four Gospels express the early Christian community’s faith reflection on the meaning of Jesus’ life. The course also is designed to help students to discover and appreciate the human as well as the divine Jesus who understands and loves them and who is the model for how we should live as reflections of the image of God.

Church History (163)

Grade 10

Credit 0.5

College Prep

The Church History course surveys the major historical, cultural, and theological developments from ancient Christianity to present day Catholicism beginning with the birth of the Church at Pentecost. Topics include the role of the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles, the influence of the Epistle writers, as well as the Ecumenical Councils. Students will examine historical events in the Medieval Period, Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation as well as the modern councils of the Church. The course stresses the importance of knowing the richness as well as the difficulties of the Church’s past in order to understand and appreciate more deeply the teachings and practices of the Church today and the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Christian Morality (165)

Grade 11

Credit 0.5

College Prep

The Christian Morality course stresses the need for a Christian philosophy of life that is reflected in moral choices. It seeks to help the student realize the need to make moral decisions based on her awareness of herself as a human person and a child of God. The student explores the areas of conscience, laws, and decision-making skills needed to make sound moral judgments while highlighting the example and teaching of Jesus as a guide for the formation of a Christian conscience and character. The student examines contemporary moral issues and applies the principles of morality in order to determine what is good and right.

Social Justice (168)

Grade 11

Credit 0.5

College Prep

The course on Social Justice aims to provide students with a methodology for living and doing justice in their own lives, according to their own capabilities. It guides them first to recognize the problems and the causes of the problems in our world. Next, it helps them to judge the facts according to Christian principles and criteria, drawing on the body of Catholic social teaching in modern times. Finally, once a situation is judged to be unjust, students consider what actions must be taken to correct it. All are encouraged to put their faith into action by doing what they can to further justice and peace in their lives and in our world. Note: A requirement of this course is 5 hours of service specifically and directly with the poor, the elderly, and/or the handicapped.

SENIOR THEOLOGY

Marriage and Life Choices (167)

Grade 12

Credit 0.5

College Prep

This required course seeks to help students to make decisions now and in the future in response to Jesus’ call to love and truth and in light of Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. Students are encouraged to make vocational and career decisions based on Christian values. Current choices in the areas of communication, friendship, dating, sexuality and career planning are explored and their significance discussed in the light of one’s vocation as a disciple of Jesus. Attitudes about love, commitment, and trust are emphasized as foundational and essential for all careers and vocations in a life focused on God’s Kingdom. Marriage is presented as a sacrament and a covenant relationship of intimacy between a woman and a man, together with God. Vocations of priesthood, religious life, and single life are explored as unique opportunities to love and to serve, as a Christian.

Christian Spirituality (150)

Grade 12

Credit 0.5

College Prep

In this course, students will explore the varied and unique ways in which God calls people into deeper relationship with the Divine. Through prayer, critical reading and thinking, reflection and sharing, students will grow in self-knowledge as well as in their awareness of how everyday life provides myriad opportunities to encounter the Holy One. In addition to topics such as their current and maturing images of God, the relationship between spirituality and religion, and the practice of discernment, they will study major schools of spirituality such as Benedictine, Franciscan, Carmelite, Ignatian, and Salesian. Through participation in this course, students will be better prepared to develop an authentic spirituality which challenges them to become enthusiastic witnesses to their faith.

World Religions (152)

Grade 12

Credit 0.5

College Prep

This semester course will explore the nature and philosophy of the worldviews that make up the various religious traditions, especially those of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam. Students will examine the elements of each religion and the ways in which humans have experienced the sacred and how they attempt to answer the big questions of life. This course will help the student not only to understand the doctrine, history, and philosophical foundations of other religions but also provide her with another lens to examine Catholicism in the context of a pluralistic and ecumenical world. Having already completed a course in social justice, this course will help students to recognize the need for mutual understanding and respectful dialogue among members of the world’s major religions as vital to seeking and maintaining world peace.

Honors World Religions (153)

Grade 12

Credit 0.5

Honors

Dual Enrollment World Religions (904) - (IU THE 314)

Grade 12

Credit 1.0

Prerequisite: A student wishing to register for Honors Theology 4 must have earned a grade of at least an “B+” in her last two semesters of Theology, maintain an “A-” through the end of Theology 3, and receive a recommendation from her current teacher.

This semester course will explore the nature and philosophy of the worldviews that make up the various religious traditions, especially those of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam and Christianity. Students will examine the elements of each religion and the ways in which humans have experienced the sacred and how they attempt to answer the big questions of life. This rigorous course will help the student not only to understand the doctrine, history, and philosophical foundations of other religions but also provide her with another lens to examine Catholicism in the context of a pluralistic and ecumenical world. Having already completed a course in social justice, this course will help students to recognize the need for mutual understanding and respectful dialogue among members of the world’s major religions as vital to seeking and maintaining world peace. Students will have the option to take dual enrollment college credit for this course. See Experiential Coursework for additional details. Teacher signature required.

Honors Apologetics (143)

Grade 12

Credit 0.5

Honors

Prerequisite: A student wishing to register for Honors Theology 4 must have earned a grade of at least an “A-” in her last two semesters of Theology, maintain an “A” through the end of Theology 3, and receive a recommendation from her current teacher.

The Honors Apologetics course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to examine the truths of the Catholic faith at a deeper level, with the goal that students will both understand and be able to explain these truths to others in a clear and logical manner. Students will identify objections and challenges to Catholic doctrines and then examine the sources and thinking on which these beliefs of the Catholic faith rest. Readings from a variety of authors and primary sources will serve as a basis for discussion, which is a key component of this course. Teacher signature required.