King’s to Begin Offering Catholic and Orthodox Studies Concentrations in RTS

The Religious and Theological Studies major at The King’s College recently received approval from the New York State Education Department to offer two new concentrations to students enrolled in the major: one in Interdisciplinary Catholic Studies and one in Interdisciplinary Orthodox Studies.

“Christians across several traditions during our state of moral and social decline are finding ways  to work together on issues like human life and the family,” said Dr. Anthony Bradley, Chair of the Program in Religious and Theological Studies and Associate Professor of Religious Studies at King’s. “These concentrations provide a context, in the spirit of the Manhattan Declaration, for students to learn about their potential future partners from other traditions while in an evangelical context.”

Students in the Interdisciplinary Catholic Studies concentration will take two required courses: Introduction to Catholicism—History & Doctrine and Introduction to Catholic Social Thought. Students will also choose two courses from among the offerings of the College in which 30% or more of the course material is focused on Roman Catholic intellectual, political, or artistic life or practice. Finally, students will take part in a six-credit capstone internship or practicum in which the student’s engagement with Roman Catholic intellectual life and practice is documented and certified by the external internship supervisor. Students enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Orthodox Studies concentration will take a parallel series of courses, but focus on the studying Eastern Orthodoxy and Modern Orthodox Religious and Social Thought. Both concentrations total 18 credits.

The concentrations provide an opportunity to highlight the particular ecclesiastical contributions of visiting and adjunct faculty at King’s who are adding value to the intellectual life at the College, bringing perspectives that may not be situated within evangelical convictions. Students taking courses from visiting and adjunct professors would be fully aware from what perspective course content is being delivered.

“These programs position King’s as an institution where Christians from multiple traditions are conversant with evangelical social, economic, and political thought as a basis for building solidarity across the Christian traditions to address the moral and social issues of our time,” said Bradley.

The new concentrations will be offered to students enrolled in the Religious and Theological Studies major beginning in Fall 2016.