"Faciendi et Credendi" means, in Latin, "Believing and doing." For the Christian, this should evoke the Letter of James: "What good is it if someone says he has faith but does not have works?" (2:14). It also evokes the idea that the study of religion involves both the beliefs and practices of a religious community. Finally, it recalls that students of theology and religious studies are engaged in both classroom learning and active participation in volunteer service, ministry, etc.

Faciendi et Credendi is the blog for the Religious Studies/Theology Program at Loras College. It is an ongoing, public account of student progress that the program requires of all its majors. The blog provides an electronic “space” for students to reflect on their experiences as a major and on the relationship of those experiences to other facets of their life at Loras.

In order to post to the blog, first find the appropriate topic by clicking on the Blog Prompts tab. Find the prompt based on how long it has been since you declared your religious studies/theology major. Then, return to the Home tab and click on New Post in the top right corner of the page. This will open an html editor where you can type your post.

Blog Prompts



The prompts to which you should respond are based on your progress in the Religious Studies/Theology major. These prompts presume that a student will declare the major early in their college career; please check with your advisor if you declare late and cannot answer all of the questions.
  
First Semester After Declaring Major

By Week 6
What do you expect or hope to learn as a Religious Studies/Theology major?  Where do these expectations come from? (For instance: From classes you have taken already?  From sources outside Loras, such as your family or parish?)

By Week 11
Choose one course you have completed from one of the three categories listed below and explain:
a) How the course helped you reach the objective for that category;
b) What could be changed in the course so that it could help you reach the objective even more effectively.

Second Semester After Declaring Major

By Week 6
Choose one course you have completed from one of the three categories listed below (that you have not already used) and explain:
a) How the course helped you reach the objective for that category;
b) What could be changed in the course so that it could help you reach the objective even more effectively.

By Week 11
Choose one course you have completed from one of the three categories listed below and explain how the course relates to another course you have taken at Loras from outside the Religious Studies/Theology curriculum. 

Third Semester After Declaring Major

Choose either Option A or Option B

Option A (use if you have completed less than 12 credits hours in Religious Studies/Theology)

By Week 6
Choose one course you have completed from one of the three categories listed below (that you have not already used) and explain:
a) How the course helped you reach the objective for that category;
b) What could be changed in the course so that it could help you reach the objective even more effectively.

By Week 11
Choose one course you have completed from one of the three categories listed below and explain how the course relates to another course you have taken at Loras from outside the Religious Studies/Theology curriculum. 

Option B (use if you have completed 12 credit hours or more in Religious Studies/Theology)

By Week 6
Research some of the options before you as a Religious Studies/Theology major (for example, careers, volunteer opportunities, graduate school programs).  Describe the skills that each of these options seem to require and discuss whether you think the Loras program has helped you develop those skills.  In the course of your answer, talk about your own plans for using this major.

By Week 11
Discuss how a learning experience outside of the traditional classroom has influenced you as a religious studies/theology major

Fourth Semester After Declaring Major

Choose either Option A or Option B

Option A (use if you have completed less than 12 credits hours in Religious Studies/Theology)

By Week 6
Choose one course you have completed from one of the three categories listed below (that you have not already used) and explain:
a) How the course helped you reach the objective for that category;
b) What could be changed in the course so that it could help you reach the objective even more effectively.

By Week 11
Choose one course you have completed from one of the three categories listed below and explain how the course relates to another course you have taken at Loras from outside the Religious Studies/Theology curriculum. 

Option B (use if you have completed 12 credit hours or more in Religious Studies/Theology)

By Week 6
Research some of the options before you as a Religious Studies/Theology major (for example, careers, volunteer opportunities, graduate school programs).  Describe the skills that each of these options seem to require and discuss whether you think the Loras program has helped you develop those skills.  In the course of your answer, talk about your own plans for using this major.

By Week 11
Discuss how a learning experience outside of the traditional classroom has influenced you as a religious studies/theology major

Fifth Semester After Declaring Major

By Week 11
Describe the leading idea(s) you have for a thesis or practicum.  Explain how your ideas relate to coursework you have taken at Loras. 

Sixth Semester After Declaring Major

By Week 11
Describe the progress on your capstone project (thesis or practicum).  List 2-3 topics you plan to discuss when you present your capstone to the program faculty and fellow seniors. 
Course Categories 

Most of the Religious Studies/Theology courses have been organized in the following three categories. Each of the categories is based on one of the three objectives of the Religious Studies/Theology major. These objectives represent the skills that a Religious Studies/Theology major ought to have, and your blog posts are meant to gather your thoughts on how well these classes helped you attain these skills. 

Group 1
Majors should be able to demonstrate that they can access, gather, organize and use information from important primary and credible secondary sources.

Courses that emphasize these skills include:
  • ·         REL 112 Intro to Religious Studies/Theology
  • ·         REL 210 World Religions
  • ·         REL 215 Christ and Culture
  • ·         REL 251 Does the Land Belong to Israel
  • ·         REL 310 Pilgrims in Their Own Land
  • ·         REL 318 Councils, Creeds, and Cultures
  • ·         REL 320 Sacraments
  • ·         REL 345 Issues in Christian Ethics
  
Group 2
Majors should be able to demonstrate through their written and oral communications that they can read “texts” (broadly understood to include written, visual, and audio work) carefully and analytically for their religious and theological value.

Courses that emphasize these skills include:
  • ·         REL 112 Intro to Religious Studies/ Theology
  • ·         REL 210 World Religions
  • ·         REL 212 Roman Catholic Sacred Spaces
  • ·         REL 215 Christ and Culture
  • ·         REL 239 Jesus and the Gospels
  • ·         REL 251 Does the Land Belong to Israel
  • ·         REL 316 Pilgrims in Their Own Land
  • ·         REL 318 Councils, Creeds, and Cultures
  • ·         REL 320 Sacraments
  • ·         REL 325 Roman Catholic Liturgical Music
  • ·         REL 335 Belief, Unbelief, and the Good Life
  • ·         REL 350 Bible and Literature

Group 3
Majors should be able to use theology to interpret beliefs and practices—religious or more broadly cultural—within the contemporary world.

Courses that emphasize these skills include:
  • ·         REL 112 Intro to Religious Studies/Theology
  • ·         REL 114 Intro to Christian Values
  • ·         REL 212 Roman Catholic Sacred Spaces
  • ·         REL 222 Christian Sexual Morality
  • ·         REL 239 Jesus and the Gospels
  • ·         REL 251 Does the Land Belong to Israel
  • ·         REL 318 Councils, Creeds, and Cultures
  • ·         REL 320 Sacraments
  • ·         REL 325 Roman Catholic Liturgical Music
  • ·         REL 335 Belief, Unbelief, and the Good Life
  • ·         REL 350 Bible and Lit
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