One of the first things that I wondered when deciding to come to a Catholic university was, “What will I have to do?” So I figured that would be a good place to start my blog series.

As a private, Catholic university, there are certain requirements at Gannon that may not exist at a public institution. Hopefully after reading this you’ll have a better understanding of what they are. (What Gannon has to offer those looking for more will come later.)

While not overwhelming compared to other universities, Gannon has some requirements that deal with religious practices. As part of the liberal arts curriculum, every student, regardless of major, must take two philosophy classes, two theology classes and a third class in either theology or philosophy. This exposes students to both subjects without taking up large amounts of credit space.

The first theology class is Intro to Sacred Scripture. As the name implies, it covers the major books of the Bible from the Old and New Testaments. I thought it was extremely well-taught and very educational. Students were left with a decent foundation in scripture so, if they wanted to read or study the Bible more in-depth, they could better understand how to do so. Still, the class was not too overbearing. The professor did not try to shove religion down our throats, but promoted it as a welcoming possibility for students to follow.

The second theology class is either Catholic or Protestant Tradition. These classes take a deeper look into what each division of Christianity entails in terms of worship, history, sacraments and other traditions. I took Protestant Tradition and to this day it remains my favorite liberal arts class. It involved discussion, field trips to local churches and experiences with different forms of Protestant tradition. We learned how Protestantism is becoming primarily driven by social needs rather than religious needs and how societal changes have affected the various churches over time.

At this point, your religious obligations at Gannon could be done – no required mass or other religious services and no more classes. You could choose to take a third theology class, but you don’t have to; you’d instead be taking a third philosophy class. This is what a portion of Gannon students choose to do. However, no matter what you believe, I encourage you to take advantage of the many opportunities Gannon has to offer and explore what religion entails and what you can do to become all that you can while in your undergraduate years.

God Bless,

Shawn

One of the many professors that you could have for Catholic Traditions is Fr. Jason Glover. Watch this video and get to know Fr. Glover.