Religion Department

Salvatore Caruso, Chair

Religion 7: Discipleship

Students in this course study the Apostle’s Creed and how these beliefs should influence the way that we live. Themes include: the Trinity, the Incarnation, Mary the Mother of God, the sacredness of each person, the Christian call to service, God’s unconditional love for us, prayer, and the need to accept ourselves as “works in progress.”

Religion 8: The Church Community

This course examines the Church Community, with much emphasis on the sacraments and Paul’s mystical “Body of Christ.” As members of this Community, students reflect upon their responsibility to use their gifts and talents in service to others. Themes include: symbols, rituals, sacramental experiences, liturgy, social justice, and prayer.

Religion 9: Foundations of Faith

The first semester of this course examines what it means to be a student at Gilmour Academy. Topics of study include: Who am I, and where have I come from? What are the history and traditions of Gilmour Academy? What does it mean to be Holy Cross? Who is God, and how can I know God? And what does it mean to be Catholic? During the second semester, students will explore the foundational stories of our faith as recorded in the Old Testament, with a special emphasis on Genesis and Exodus, and the everlasting covenant that God has made with humanity.

Religion 10: Encounters with Christ and Church History

Students study the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in the New Testament and the development of the Catholic Church as a response to Jesus' message of hope. The study of Church history looks at influential people and events in the growth of the Church, and concludes by examining what it means to be Christian/Catholic in the 21st century.

Religion 11: Catholic Morality and Social Justice

This course invites students to build upon all that they have learned in previous two courses to answer the question, “What sort of person is God calling me to be?” The first semester examines Catholic morality as an invitation from a loving God to be in relationship with him. Topics include: Catholic moral norms, character, choices, community, conscience, and becoming fully human. The second semester of the course examines Catholic Social Teaching, and revolves around the semester long Praxis project. This project challenges students to choose a social issue in the Cleveland area, research the Church’s teaching on that issue, and to get involved in the Cleveland community by making an action response based off of their findings. Topics include: Praxis, the scriptural vision of justice, themes and documents of Catholic Social Teaching, community building, peacemaking, and economic justice.

Religion 12: Contemporary Catholicism

This course is designed to help students move into adulthood with an increasingly mature and owned faith. Students examine the nature of faith and its expression in various forms of Catholic spirituality. Emphasis is placed on the practice of prayer and on deepening our understanding of faith.

World Religions (one semester)

This is a comparative religion course designed to introduce students to the essential beliefs of the world’s major religions.  The concept of Worldview is used to understand any tradition of belief.  Spirituality explores how the integration of belief affects lifestyle.  The content of the course would include a look at the Abrahamic religions of the West, Hinduism and Buddhism in the East, and the mythic religions of tribal peoples.  In addition to the religions of the world, time will be devoted to the formal practice of Meditation.