Theology of Religions

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Christianity arose in a diverse religious environment. Originally in competition with other sects of Judaism and various Greco-Roman religions, Christianity encountered rival Gnostic sects, Manichaeism, and Islam as it spread, eventually entering dialogue with the various religious traditions of Asia and the Americas. This class introduces students to the theology of religions that developed over this long and eventful history. Topics addressed include the presence of God in other religious traditions, explanations of non-Christian virtue, the salvation of non-Christians, the possibilities of universal salvation, and contemporary Inter-religious dialogue, with special emphasis given to magisterial documents after the Second Vatican Council. Readings will include St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Karl Rahner, Jean Danielou, Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Joseph Ratzinger, and Jacques Dupuis, among others.