Religion Department

REQUIRED:     4 Years

RELIGION 9
Our Catholic Faith:  Living What We Believe
This course seeks to create a level "playing field" in the study of religion for all the students new to Cathedral High School no matter what their religious or grammar school background may be.  It does so by presenting basic topics in the teachings of the Catholic Church.  We begin with an exploration into the meaning of faith, the reasons for faith and the object of our faith, God.  We then focus on Jesus as the Savior and as the Son of God and the meaning for us of his life and his gospel.  The third major component in the course is an examination of the work of the Spirit in the life of the Church, especially as the Church lives out that life in the seven sacraments.

RELIGION 10
Path Through Scripture
The goal of this course is to give the students a solid foundation in the Sacred Scriptures, the revealed Word of God, as well as to give them insight into its significance in their lives.  The students will first deal with the Old Testament, how it came to be written and how it is interpreted in the Catholic Church.  They will explore such topics as the meaning of creation and sin, the covenants between God and Abraham, the covenant between God and Israel, established through Moses, the teaching of the prophets and the later history of Israel.  The students will then turn their attention to the New Testament.  They will explore how the gospels were written and how each gospel presents the person, the message and the saving work of Jesus Christ.  The course finishes with a look at the work of Saint Paul and the early history of the Christian community.

RELIGION 11
Deciding:  Catholic Morality
This course seeks to help students as they are confronted more and more with the necessity of making serious moral decisions in their lives.  It will raise such questions as:  what does it mean to be human, why be moral, what makes something right, what is the role of feelings in our decision making, what is conscience and how is it formed, what is the relationship between conscience and authority.  In addition to discussing many specific topics relating to morality, such as social justice, drugs, abortion, cheating, sex and relationships, euthanasia, consumerism and others, the students will study the moral teachings of the Catholic Church in each of these areas in order to help them in their every day lives.

RELIGION 12
Christian Vocations
This course seeks to help students understand that each path in life they may choose can be a vocation in which we serve God, the gospel and the needs of others.  Our first focus is on the meaning and the importance of love and intimacy in the different relationships that make up our lives.  We will discuss in a practical way how those relationships can be made better, especially in the ways we communicate, the decisions those relationships may ask of us and the signs of an unhealthy relationship.  We then focus on the specific vocations:  the single life, the religious life, the priesthood.  The final part of the course is an in-depth look at the vocation of marriage, its meaning, its challenges and its significance as a sacrament.  The course will also include a section called "The Basics of the Faith," a brief summary of the important teachings of the Catholic faith which the students have studied over their Cathedral High School career.