Catholic Studies Program: Welcome

The Catholic studies minor is a university wide, interdisciplinary minor sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences. Through this minor, students will seek to understand the mutual influences of Catholic Christianity and world cultures over the course of 2,000 years. Drawing on the resources of many departments at the University of Portland, students will study how faith and reason have shaped Catholic texts, systems of thought, institutions, and devotional practices and how Catholic Christianity has contributed to world cultures through works of charity, justice, and peace up to the present day. At the same time, students will engage in rigorous assessment of the Church’s contributions to intellectual, cultural, spiritual, and social developments, in order to achieve a mature understanding of the Church’s role.

Besides providing opportunities to explore the dynamic and mutual interaction between the Church and cultures, the minor challenges students to add their own transformative contributions to the rich and living tradition of Catholic Christianity.

The Catholic studies minor provides opportunities for students to engage in sustained reflection on the Catholic tradition and to experience its many facets – intellectual, spiritual, liturgical, artistic, and service. Because it is necessarily interdisciplinary and promotes the study of faith and service, the Catholic studies minor clearly manifests the mission of the University of Portland.