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Home , Irenaean theodicy, Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr

The Religious Studies

Comprehensive

Students who choose the Religious Studies comprehensive take a two-part examination in their final year. The comprehensive offers students the opportunity to demonstrate a certain breadth and depth of knowledge: breadth in the selection of texts, and depth in their ability to engage the texts critically and constructively. In preparing for and completing the examination, students show that they have grown in ways specific to their courses within the Religious Studies major, both by becoming familiar with important ideas and by gaining facility in theological reflection. The exams are designed to allow them to synthesize and strengthen their understanding, allowing them to reflect on what they’ve learned, to design an important part of their program of study, and to collaborate closely with faculty.

Structure of the comprehensive: An overview

The comprehensive is constructed in dialogue with each student who, in consultation with her advisor, proposes a bibliography for each part of her examination. The first part covers historical materials and is comprised of four texts representing the history of religious thought until 1950; the second examines contemporary sources and is comprised of four texts written after 1950. The parts of the comprehensive may be taken in either order.

Since one aim of the examination is to assure the student’s breadth of knowledge in the field, the bibliographies should reflect a broad range of materials. The department approves the list and assigns readers who work with the student and formulate questions drawn from the approved texts. Each semester’s exam consists of three essay questions. Depending on a student’s goals, sometimes a question will relate two of the texts; other times, the questions formulated by the readers focus on three individual texts from the list of four. The student responds to these essay questions in a twenty-four-hour, open-book examination. This exam format has been developed in order give the student enough time to write thoughtful essays while minimizing the disruption to her ordinary schedule.

Preparing for the examination: initial steps

Students planning to do the comprehensive begin in second semester of their junior year by reviewing their course of study, their goals in the major and their scholarly interests, and the department’s bibliography for exams. Each student is encouraged to use the process of selecting texts as an opportunity to think about the works and ideas that are important to her as a student of Religious Studies. 2

Because students complete the major in a variety of ways, either part of the comprehensive can come first. The texts chosen for each part should represent a breadth of perspectives, but two or more of them may be connected by a theme, approach, or question the student would like to explore by specifically comparing texts. Usually, students choose texts that they have studied in previous classes and would like to return to in more depth. They sometimes choose texts from courses they will take their senior year and expect to find especially important to their program of study. However, students are not limited to texts they have encountered, or plan to encounter, in their courses; it is most appropriate for a student to propose a text she would like to study for the first time. Moreover, a student may request a text that is not on the department bibliography.

Working with the department bibliography

The department maintains a large bibliography from which students may draw. Part A of this bibliography contains works dating from ancient times to the early twentieth century; these works provide the suggested materials for the historical part of the comprehensive. Part B of the department’s bibliography covers texts from 1950 on; these materials constitute suggested sources for the contemporary part of the examination. The department’s bibliography reflects works deemed important in historical and contemporary religious thought. It also represents works used in Religious Studies courses from recent semesters. The bibliography is posted online on the department’s web page and is available in hard copy from the chair of the department. Selections in the bibliography may be entire works of book length, but they may also be individual essays or excerpts from longer works. When a selection is an excerpt from a longer work, the student may have to become familiar with the argument and approach of the entire book. Her advisor and readers will work with her to help her gain the context needed.

As noted above, a student may ask to include a text in her bibliography that isn’t on the department’s list. This process ensures both that the student’s bibliography meets the department goal of including representative texts and that it expresses the student’s own interests and goals as a Religious Studies major.

Consulting with faculty

Once a student has reflected on which texts she would like to explore in her exams, she schedules a meeting with her advisor. This initial meeting should take place before the end of her junior year, and since the process of finalizing bibliographies can take some time, students are strongly encouraged to contact their advisors no later than April 15th. In this initial meeting, the student will explain which texts she would like to include in her fall exam bibliography and discuss her interests in these particular texts. If possible, she should also have looked forward to her spring exam so that her final eight-piece bibliography will represent the depth and breadth of her work in the major. However, the final list for the spring examination does not need to be proposed and approved until the student has completed her fall exam. She should contact her advisor in time to secure 3 approval before the end of the fall semester.

Once the student and advisor decide on a bibliography, the advisor submits the list to the department as a whole. The department then approves it or recommends changes if needed. Once the department approves each bibliography, the chair assigns two readers who will work with the student as she prepares for the exam and then read the students’ essays. The chair will notify the student of the official approval of her bibliography and her assigned readers. At that point the student sets up an appointment with the readers to discuss her interests in the texts, any work she has already done on them, and the areas she would like to focus on during her exam. The readers will help the student clarify these areas of focus for each text. In addition to the two assigned readers, all Religious Studies faculty are available to consult with the student in her work on individual texts and to suggest relevant secondary materials that will help her understand the texts more fully.

Usually, the student and readers will decide on four possible essay topics. The readers then choose three of those four topics and put them in the form of essay questions for the comprehensive examination. As a result of this collaboration, each student has considerable input into the questions she will be asked on her exam. Though she won’t see the final form of the questions until she takes the exam and won’t know which three of the four topics will appear on the exam, she will be very familiar with the issues the questions raise. Exam questions, then, ask students to compose essays based on this extended period of collaboration and preparation.

Taking the comprehensive examination

One part of the comprehensive is taken before Thanksgiving and one is taken before spring break of the student’s final year. The department, in consultation with the student, sets the exact time and place for taking the exam. The student and her readers usually schedule the twenty-four-hour exam period over a weekend, so that there is time for sleep, meals, and a reasonable pace in completing the three essays. The student arranges to pick up her question on the scheduled day and time and returns two copies of her responses at a designated time and place. Students ordinarily work where they can use their own computers.

Our experience has been that students do best when, having prepared well, they allot no more than four hours per question. That may mean organizing thoughts on each question for approximately two hours, with the rest of the time allotted to the actual writing; or it may mean spending more time on the writing, working from detailed notes or outlines prepared in advance. As a rule, complete answers consist of approximately four typed, double-spaced pages.

In writing the exam, students are welcome, and encouraged, to consult the texts they are writing on; in fact, strong essays will refer to specific points in the texts, with accurate quotes and paraphrases accompanied by parenthetical page references when needed. Students are also welcome to use other books and articles relevant to the exam and any 4 notes and outlines they have prepared in advance. It’s to be expected that, in preparing those notes and outlines, students will draw on the work they have done in previous classes. However, the exam essays should be fresh considerations of the texts, written specifically for the examination. If a student consults sources other than the assigned texts, she should cite them accurately and include a Works Cited page with her essay.

Evaluating the examination

Student responses are read and evaluated by the two readers who have worked with the student throughout her preparation for the exam. In each response, they look for a coherent, thoughtfully demonstrated thesis and accurate reporting of points from the text. They take into account both the importance of preparation for the exam and the limited time the student has to write the final essays. The exam is not graded, but, for each part of the exam, students receive a letter with the results and written comments on each response. If a student does not successfully complete all parts of the exam, she is expected to revise the response(s) that did not meet department standards. The student is invited to consult with her readers as she works on her revision, which must be completed by the date specified in her letter (usually before the end of the semester in which the exam was taken). Once both parts of the exam have been successfully completed, the chair enters on the student transcript “RLST 999: Comprehensive Exam Passed.”

Some Final Words of Wisdom to Students Taking the Exam

At its best, the comprehensive exam can and should be a learning experience that allows you to pull together and display proudly what you’ve learned and the skills you’ve acquired. As with other work you’ve done in the department, each comprehensive question asks that you engage texts critically and not just summarize an author’s arguments. A successful essay response presents a strong thesis that reflects your own thinking on the question, and it supports that thesis with solid, well-organized evidence from the relevant texts.

Though the exam itself may take only two twenty-four-hour periods, the preparation for it will take several months. The best way to succeed on the exams is to start early. If at all possible, plan ahead so that you can begin your studying over the summer. Work closely with your advisor so that your lists are approved in plenty of time, and prepare well for your meetings with your readers so that you can take full advantage of your time together. Remember that your exams are a time for you to show your ability to put together a solid, broad-ranging bibliography and to write thoughtfully, perhaps even astutely, about the texts you’ve chosen. The faculty is happy to help you, but the initiative and thought must be yours. Revised 02/04/05

Historical Materials (to 1950)

Choose four and negotiate with advisor:

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A One text from Hebrew Scriptures. Use NRSV translation or The Jewish Study .

B One text from Christian Scriptures. Use NRSV translation.

C One author from formative (second - fifth centuries):

 Justin: “First Apology,” Early Christian Fathers (Macmillan, 1970), 225-289  : On First (Peter Smith/Harper, 1966), book 4  : “Apology,” Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, 17-55  Selections from Cyril, Nestorius and the Council of Chalcedon in The Christological Controversy (Fortress, 1980), 123-159  (choose any two of these texts): • ” and the Letter,” Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, 80-114 • Confessions (Oxford, 1992; Penguin, 1961), books 10-13 • On Christian Doctrine (Bobbs-Merrill, 1958), Prologue & book 3

D One author from medieval Christian :

: Proslogion (Open Court, 1962), 1-34  : Summa Theologiae (Blackfriars)--choose up to two sections on ... • (I.Qq. 1-14) • grace (I-II. Qq. 109-114) • natural law (I-II. Qq. 90-97) • Eucharist (III. Qq. 73-83)  : The Mind’s Road to God (Bobbs-Merrill, 1953), 3-46 or Ewert Cousins translation.

E One mystical writer:

 Teresa of Avila: Interior Castles, in Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, vol. 2 (ICS Publications, 1980), 3rd - 5th mansions, 304-358  Meister Eckhart: “Book of Benedictus: Of the Nobleman,” “Counsels on Discernment,” and “On Detachment,” in Meister Eckhart: The Essential Sermons, Commentaries, Treatises, and Defenses (Paulist, 1981), 240-294  Julian of Norwich: Showings, Classics of Western Spirituality Series (Paulist, 1978), The Long Text, 175-343  John of the Cross: “The Living Flame of Love,” in The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross (ICS Publications, 1991), 569-649

F One author from or Renaissance Christian Thought:

 Desiderius : “A Pilgrimage for ’s Sake,” Ten Colloquies (Bobbs-Merrille, 1957), 56-91  6

• “On Christian Freedom” and section of “The Babylonian Captivity of the ” on the eucharist; Three Treatises (Fortress), 277-316 • Erasmus and Luther’s debate on , in Erasmus-Luther: Discourse on Free Will (Ungar, 1961), 3-138  : Institutes of the Christian Religion (Library of Christian Classics, vols. 1 and 2 (Westminster, 1960) • book 1, chs. 6-8 on scripture • book 1, chs. 10-12 on idolatry • book 2, chs. 15-17 on Christ’s soteriological work • book 3, ch. 11 on justification • book 4, ch. 14 on sacraments

G One text from modern Christian thought (19th-early 20th century):

: On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers (Cambridge, 1989), first and second speeches, 77-140  Sören Kierkegaard: Fear and Trembling (Penguin, 1985), 57-147  : Selections from “An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine,” “Apologia pro Vita Sua,” “On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine,” and “A Letter to the Duke of Norfolk,” in Newman the Theologian: A Reader (Notre Dame, 1990), 160-247  George Tyrrell: “Letter to a University Professor,” A Much Abused Letter (Longmans, 1906), 37-89

H One text reflecting a social-political focus:

: A Theology for the (Abingdon, 1945), chs. 1 and 8-13  Pope Leo XIII: Rerum Novarum, in Contemporary Catholic Social Teaching (United States Catholic Conference, 1991), 15-43

I One text reflecting historically informed biblical :

 Martin Kähler: The So-Called Historical and the Historical Biblical Christ (Fortress, 1964)  Hans Conzelman: The Theology of Saint Luke (Harper, 1960)  George E. Wright: The God Who Acts (SCM, 1952)  : Jesus Christ and Mythology (Scribners, 1958)  Daniel Boyarin: A Radical Jew: Paul and the Politics of Identity (University of California Press, 1994)  Paula Fredriksen: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the : A Jewish life and the Emergence of Christianity (Vintage Books, 1999) J One text reflecting 19th-early 20th century Christian feminism:

 Sarah Grimke: Letters on the Equality of the Sexes, and Other Essays (Yale, 1988) 7

 Elizabeth Cady Stanton: The Woman’s Bible (Coalition on Women and Religion, 1974) prefaces to Parts 1 and 2, plus “Old Testament” and “New Testament” entries followed by “E.C.S.” commentaries

K One classic resource from a non-Christian tradition:

 Buddhism: “Dhammapada,” A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy (Princeton, 1957), 292-325  Hinduism: “The Bhagavad Gita,” in A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy (Princeton, 1957), 101-163  Islam: Koran (selections negotiated with advisor)  R. K. Narayan: The Ramayana

L One author from a non-Christian tradition:

 Al-Ghazzali: Tahafut al-Falasifah (The Incoherence of the Philosophers) (Pakistan Philosophical Conference, 1958)  Writings on : Samkara and , A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy (Princeton, 1957), 506-555

M One work at the interface of philosophy and religion:

: On the Nature of the (Penguin, 1972), 69-120, 123-146, 153- 161, 185-190, and 193-235  : On the Harmony of Religion and Philosophy (Luzac, 1976), 44- 81  : Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Kemp Smith translation (Bobbs-Merrille, 1947), 127-228  : “The Anti-Christ,” Twilight of the Idols and The Anti- Christ (Penguin, 1968), 114-187

N One work at the interface of psychology and religion:

: Varieties of Religion Experience (Penguin, 1985), Introduction by Martin Marty or Niebuhr and “Conclusion”; then either 78- 165 (“The Religion of Healthy-Mindedness; The Sick ”) or 259-378 (“Saintliness and of Saintliness”). Choose selections in consultation with advisor.  Sigmund Freud: • Future of an Illusion (Norton, 1989); or • Civilization and its Discontents (Norton, 1989)  Karl Jung: Memories, Dreams, & Reflections

O One work in religion and literature

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 Euripides: The Bacchae (trans. Arrowsmith)  Aristophanes: The Frogs (trans. Webb)  : The Divine Comedy (selections to be determined in consultation)  : (trans. Pevear and Volokhonsky)  E.M. Forster: A Passage to India  Isak Dinesen: "The Deluge at Noderney" or Out of Africa  D.H. Lawrence: The Man Who Died (Vintage, 1925), 163-211

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Contemporary Materials (from 1950 on)

Choose four and negotiate with advisor:

A One Catholic author in :

: “Theology and Anthropology” and “ and Implicit Christianity,” Theological Investigations, vol. 9 (Seabury), 28-45 and 145- 164; and “Experience of Self and Experience of God,” Theological Investigations, vol. 13 (Seabury, 1975), 105-121; “Reflections on the Experience of Grace,” Theological Investigations, vol. 3 (Helicon), 86-90.  Hans Küng: On Being a Christian (Doubleday, 1976), selections on Christology, 278-410  : Jesus and Christ (Crossroad, 1981), 3-19, 50-63 and 105-124

B One Protestant author in systematic theology:

: Church Dogmatics: A Selection (Harper, 1961), selections on , 29-86  H. Richard Niebuhr: Radical and Western Culture (Harper, 1960), 11-89  Wolfgang Pannenberg: Theology and the Kingdom of God (Westminster, 1975), 51-143

C One work in contemporary biblical studies:

 Jon D. Levenson: Sinai and Zion (Harper, 1985)  Willi Marxsen: Jesus and Easter (Abingdom, 1990)  Jürgen Becker: Paul: Apostle to the Gentiles. Translated by O. C. Dean, Jr. (Westminster/ Press, 1993)  David E Aune: The Westminster Dictionary of the New Testament and Early Christian Literature and Rhetoric (Westminster John Knox, 2003)

D One text in :

: The Divine Relativity (Yale, 1948), 1-94  David Tracy: Plurality and Ambiguity (Harper, 1987), 1-114  : The God of the Philosophers (Clarendon, 1969)  Robert Sokolowski: The God of and Reason (Notre Dame, 1982) 10

 Alasdair MacIntyre and Paul Ricoeur: The Religious Significance of Atheism (Columbia, 1969)  : “An Irenaean ,” Encountering , Ed. Stephen T. Davis (John Knox, 1981), 39-68  Fr. Robert Barron: Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master  Carol Christ: She Who Changes: Re-imagining the Divine in the World

E One piece in Catholic theological :

 Gustavo Gutierrez: Power of the Poor in History (Orbis, 1983), 3-22 and 125-165  Charles Curran: Directions in Catholic Social Ethics (Notre Dame, 1985), “The Changing Anthropological Bases of Catholic Social Ethics” (5-42); and one of the following: “Roman Catholic Teaching on and War in Broader Theological Context” (198-224), in Directions in Catholic Social Ethics “Moral Theology in the Light of Reactions to Humanae Vitae” (19-58), in Transition and Tradition in Moral Theology (Notre Dame, 1975) “Abortion: Ethical Aspects” (207-229), in Transition and Tradition in Moral Theology  Richard McCormick: The Critical Calling: Reflections on Moral Dilemmas Since Vatican II--choose two chapters  Lisa Cahill: Between the Sexes: Foundations for a of Sexuality (Fortress, 1985), chs. 1, 2, and 8  Sr. Helen Prejean: Dead Man Walking  Fr. Timothy O'Connell: Principles for a Catholic (revised edition)  Paul J. Wadell: Friendship and the Moral Life

F One piece in Protestant theological ethics:

: The Cost of Discipleship (MacMillan, 1959)  : Nature and Destinay of Man, Vol. I (Scribners, 1964)  : A Community of Character (Notre Dame, 1983), choose three chapters  Paul Ramsey: The Just War (University Press of America, 1983), choose either Part II on “The Morality of War” or Part III on “The Morality of Deterrence”; alternatively, Ethics at the Edge of Life (Yale, 1978), choose either Part I on abortion or three of six chapters from Part II on euthanasia  Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Testament of Hope (Harpter, 1986), 31-34, 54- 61, 63-63, 64-72, 117-125, 135-144, 176-181, 189-194, 197-200, 217-220, 231-244, 303-312, 340-377

G One work in feminist religious thought:

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 Rosemary Radford Ruether: Sexism and God-Talk (Beacon, 1983), 12-46 and two chapters  Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza: “In Search of Women’s Heritage,” Weaving the Visions (Harper, 1989), 29-39; “ as a Critical Theology of Liberation,” Theological Studies, 36:4 (Dec. 1975), 605-626; and Bread Not Stone (Beacon, 1984), introduction and chapters 1-2  Elizabeth Johnson: She Who Is (Continuum, 1992), Friends of God and Prophets (Continuum, 1998)  Sally McFague: Models of God

H One work by a non-Christian author:

: Zen and Western Thought (University of Hawaii, 1985), chapters 1, 9, 10 and 12  : I and Thou, Smith trans. (Scribners, 1958)  : Ideals and Realities of Islam (Praeger, 1967), 15-93; or selections from The Heart of Islam  Radhakrishnan: The Hindu View of Life (MacMillan, 1968), 11-92

I One piece from the comparative or social study of religion:

: Cosmos and History: The Myth of the Eternal Return (Harper, 1954)  Thomas Luckman: The Invisible Religion: The Problem of Religion in Modern (Macmillan, 1967)  Peter Berger: The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion (Doubleday, 1967)

J One work in religion and literature:

 Nikos Kazantzakis: The Last Temptation of Christ (Simon and Schuster, 1960)  Flannery O’Connor: The Complete Stories (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1979): "Revelation," "The River," and "Everything that Rises Must Converge", and/or Wise Blood  Georges Bernanos: The Diary of a Country Priest (Carroll and Graf, 1965), 1-298  Graham Greene: Monsignor Quixote (Washington Square, 1982)  Zora Neale Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God (Harper, 1990)  Boris Pasternak: Doctor Zhivago (Battal Ballanetine, 1957)  Archibald MacLeish: J.B.

K One group of selections from the conciliar documents, papal encyclicals, Vatican declarations or pastoral letters:

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•Vatican II All the following in Documents of Vatican II, ed. Abbott, (Guild) or Flannery, Austin, O.P. Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents Volume 1. Northport, New York: Costello Publishing Company, 1975. Also available online: for example

• “On Revelation •“The Church in the Modern World” •“Religious Freedom” •“Declaration on the Relationship of Christians to Non-Christian ”

•Papal encyclicals: •Pope Paul VI’s Humanae Vitae (Paulist, 1968) •Pope John Paul II’s Centesimus Annus, Origins, 21 (1991), 1-24 •Pope John Paul II’s On the Dignity and Vocation of Women, Origins, 18 (1988), 261, 263-283  Pope John Paul II’s Veritatis Splendor  Pope John Paul II’s Fides et Ratio

•Vatican declarations: •Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Declaration on Abortion,” Origins, 4 (1974), 385, 387-392 •Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Declaration on Euthanasia,” The Main Issues in , second edition (Paulist, 1984) •Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on the Dignity of Human Reproduction,” Religion and ArtificialReproduction (Crossroad, 1988), 140-177

•Pastoral letters from the American Catholic Bishops •The Challenge of Peace (United States Catholic Conference, 1983) •Economic for All (United States Catholic Conference, 1986) •“One in Christ Jesus: A Pastoral Response to the Concerns of Women for Church and Society,” Second draft of Pastoral Letter, Origins, 19 (1990), 317, 319-340  “Always our Children”: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers, 1997. A Statement of the Bishops’ Committee on Marriage and Family.

Pontifical Biblical Commission  "The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church" Presented to Pope John Paul II on April 23, 1993. Online at 13

Revised 02/04/05