Theology

The Theology concentration enables participants to explore new directions that have emerged since the removal of theology as a dogmatic discipline from most liberal arts curricula. The focus is on how the divine or ultimate is conceived. Two principal approaches to that issue may be combined. The first approach is referential; it begins with the evaluation of texts, works of art, or other aspects of human production that claim to express the meaning and purpose of experience. The second approach is constructive; it involves the investigator in an analysis aimed at evaluating or contributing to religious discourse. While the critical study of religion is designed to describe and analyze religious systems within their historical settings, theology’s purpose is to engage what these systems claim to refer to. The ethical, political, literary, and cultural are all contexts in which theological elements may be significant.