The TRS Major provides a solid foundation for work in any field that involves cross-cultural communication, empathetic client relationships, critical thinking, ethical decision-making, careful writing, group collaboration, or social action.
Theology & Religious Studies Major
Professor's POV of Theology and Religious Studies at JCU
Gain the tools to understand and respond to the religious forces that shape contemporary businesses, international events, and interpersonal relationships. When you study the world's religions, you get to ask big questions that cut across the entire human experience, preparing you for any career that involves understanding and interacting with people.
Program Highlights
Experiential learning is paramount to the study of theology and religion. Several courses partner with JCU's Center for Service and Social Action to provide service-learning experiences. For example, you can work with Cleveland environmental non-profits in TRS 2563: Ecology, Religion, and Justice. Other courses arrange site visits to local synagogues, mosques, churches, and temples. Highlights include Dr. Kristen Tobey's visit to nearby Kirkland Temple, the very first Mormon house of worship, and Dr. Noah Bickart’s class visit to his own backyard sukkah during the Festival of Booths.
TRS’s diverse faculty and course offerings provide you with both a solid foundation in the Catholic tradition and serious engagement with other religious perspectives and worldviews. Faculty in the TRS program teach you to think critically, communicate cogently, reflect thoughtfully, and engage passionately to address the needs of our contemporary world.
The flexibility of the TRS Major allows you to roam widely or to focus your electives in an area of interest. Some possibilities include:
Many jobs in demand today did not exist a decade ago. How do you prepare for careers driven by technologies not yet invented? A Jesuit education provides the intellectual skills and mental agility to give you the leading edge in a wide variety of careers and entrepreneurial activities. TRS students have pursued careers in business, communication, health care, public administration, faith-based non-profits, schools, ministry, and more. Alumni have gone on to doctoral programs, law school, and other professional graduate programs. Recent graduates have been accepted to graduate programs at Harvard Divinity School, Boston College, St. Patrick’s College (Maynooth, Ireland), Florida State University, University of Dayton, University of Notre Dame, and others.
Theology & Religious Studies is home to a number of Centers of Excellence, including:
- The Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies aims to provide both the John Carroll community and the general public with balanced and responsible, academically rigorous, and theologically sound information about Islam.
- The Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Chair in Jewish Studies promotes greater understanding of Judaism by engaging both ancient texts and contemporary concerns.
- The Jack and Mary Jane Breen Chair in Catholic Theology seeks to foster a better understanding of the contemporary relevance and global dimension of Catholic theology.
- The Tuohy Center for Interreligious Understanding seeks to promote appreciation for and understanding of the diverse religious traditions that shaper our world.
A number of student organizations collaborate with Theology & Religious Studies, including: Agape, a Catholic devotional group; Daughters of Isabella, a Catholic women’s charitable organization; Hillel, a student group seeking to connect Jewish students at John Carroll with one another; Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men’s group for prayer, study, and devotions; Muslim Student Society (MSS); Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF); and the Theology & Religious Studies honor society Theta Alpha Kappa.
Featured Courses
TRS 3110 ABRAHAM FATHER OF NATIONS
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all see Abraham as their founder or ancestor. This course engages in close readings of Genesis 12-25, as well as texts from rabbinic literature, the New Testament, and the Qur'an, to explore the ways in which three contemporary traditions map onto Abraham their own visions of what it means to be a religious person.
TRS 3338 CATHOLICISM IN A DIGITAL AGE
This course will look into the theological significance of the digital revolution for the Catholic experience of faith, focusing on communication technologies. Surveys the historical impact of technological innovation on the church and explores theological topics currently being rethought in light of technological change.
TRS 3442 ISLAM & THE ENVIRONMENT
Looks at Islamic approaches to environmental issues based on the major sources of Islam: the Qur’an and the Hadith. Includes Islamic principles regarding the natural world and humanity’s place within it, and Islamic legal strictures to protect the environment. Special emphasis on contemporary Islamic activism to protect the natural world.
Notable Alum
Maggie Hutchison, ’14
has honed her skills for creating opportunity and equity for under-resourced people across many perspectives. Her view has stretched as wide as the United Nations response to global surges in migration, and as focussed as how residents of Queensbridge, the largest housing project in North America, access jobs. As a Project Manager for Urban Upbound, she tracks and translates data to support funding for job training, youth development, college access and wealth building programs among the nearly 7,000 residents of Queensbridge, a community hit hard by everything from hurricane Sandy to the covid pandemic.
Theology & Religious Studies Alumni Across the Region
John Carroll University alumni live, work, teach and support communities throughout the region from Northeast Ohio to Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, Columbus, Buffalo, Rochester, Pittsburgh, New York City, Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia.