Religion

Religion and Ethics*
Grade 10
.5 credit
This foundational course in Religion introduces and cultivates skills in religious literacy, ethical analysis, and the development of the moral imagination. As an introduction to religion and ethical theory, the course investigates Pennington’s values of honor, virtue, and humility through three big questions: How have the world’s religious traditions described the human creature? How do we make ethical decisions? Why is the study of religion important for the work of ecological citizenship?
*Required course for sophomores
Offered fall and spring semesters

Bioethics*
Grade 12
.5 credit
Bioethics explores moral traditions in conversation with advancements in technology and medicine. As a branch of applied ethics, Bioethics invites us to consider deep and abiding questions about matters of life and death,  standards of medical care and research, and the development and administration of new technology to intervene into natural processes. Bioethics is an evolving global discipline with direct and relevant application to political and social issues such as, but not limited to, abortion, reproductive technologies, euthanasia and the right to die, cloning, organ donation, gene editing, and animal research. Students will build a robust understanding of moral theories (i.e., Consequentialism, Deontology, Virtue) as well as an appreciation for the complex features of the central debates in the field.
*Prerequisites: Religion and Ethics, Biology, Chemistry
*Successful completion of the course also garners Science credit.
Offered spring semester in alternate years – offered spring 2027

The Good Life–Honors*
Grades 11–12
.5 Credit
This honors-level, reading-intensive course in Religion and English takes up the philosophical question of the good life, or how to live a meaningful life. What does it mean to live well? Is there a purpose or end to human life? Is there anything we ought to do in order to live well? What does it mean to be responsible? How do theists engage the problem of evil? Is the good merely a matter of taste or preference? How should we think about humanity as a member of the democracy of species? The course explores such philosophical questions in a literary mode. The first quarter focuses attention on the form of the personal essay. The second quarter explores a close reading of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.
*Prerequisite: Religion and Ethics, English department approval for Honors/AP-level work
*Successful completion of the course also garners English credit.
*Students in Grade 11: this course may only be taken in addition to a year-long English class. It does not reduce English course load requirements in later years.
Offered fall semester

Introduction to Philosophy*
Grades 11–12
.5 credit
Philosophy is a love of wisdom and an appreciation for the complexities of life. Students explore the thought, writings, and influence of major philosophical thinkers. Students pursue the basic questions of philosophy, including topics in elementary logic and reasoning, ethics and morality, issues in political and social philosophy, and ecological citizenship. Students learn to frame contemporary issues and problems within  philosophical traditions in order to shed new light on what is at stake for the individual, society, and the environment.
*Prerequisite: Religion and Ethics
Offered spring semester

Rhythm of the Sacred*
Grades 11–12
.5 credit
This semester course explores how music is a powerful and essential part of religious experience. World religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Sikhism are examined in conversation with  composers and congregants. Students learn basic elements of music to then analyze the ways in which sacred music is an integral part of both individual spirituality and congregational worship. Understanding of musical style is enhanced and synthesized by listening to audio recordings, video performances, live music presentations, and student “hands-on” playing of rhythm instruments and piano keyboards.
*Prerequisite: Religion and Ethics 
*Successful completion of this course also garners Arts credit.
Offered fall semester

Climate Change and Storytelling in Religion and Science*
Grade 12
.5 Credit
This class is an interdisciplinary experience in interpreting and telling stories about who we are in the Anthropocene (the age of humans)—who do we understand ourselves to be, and who do we want to become? In conversation with multiple and diverse modes of storytelling, the course outlines the science of climate change, including the greenhouse effect, human-driven changes in CO2 levels and subsequent changes in temperature (air and water), as well as data related to melting polar ice, carbon cycling, climate feedback loops, and other greenhouse gases. Students study the different consequences of climate change: sea level rise, wildfires, drought, climate refugees, hurricanes and flooding, habitat loss, species extinction, and so on. Stories in the form of journalism, ethnography, poetry, music, creative nonfiction, podcasts, film, and religious ecologies will guide us as we explore climate change impacts and pathways of perseverance, resilience, problem-solving, and hope. 
*Prerequisites: Religion and Ethics, Biology, Chemistry
*Successful completion of the course also garners Science credit.
Offered spring semester in alternate years – offered spring 2026

The Ethics of Jesus*
Grades 11‒12
.5 credit
This course explores the field of ethics in conversation with the teachings of one of the most famous moral thinkers in history, Jesus of Nazareth, using the primary documents of the Christian and Hebrew scriptures as well as important commentaries on his teachings. We will ask ourselves about our own ethical systems and hold them up to the lights of both religious (Western and non-Western) and secular standards. 
*Prerequisite: Religion and Ethics
Offered spring semester

Religion and Visual Media*
Grades 11-12
.5 credit
This course explores the intersection of religion and visual media. Students will examine how selected media reflect, critique, and embody religious and philosophical themes. We will study how visual storytelling mediates deep questions about meaning and the human condition. Through screenings, discussions, and projects, students will develop critical thinking skills, deepen religious literacy, learn to interpret religious and ethical ideas in cultural texts, and reflect on their own ideas in dialogue with others.
*Prerequisite: Religion and Ethics
Offered fall semester

Nature and Experience*
Grade 12
.5 credit
What is our place in the natural world? How do literary depictions of wildness, wilderness, and the pastoral reflect or evoke religious dispositions such as gratitude, joy, reverence, and awe? How do environmental writers use religious texts and traditions? To engage such questions, this interdisciplinary course explores selected texts in creative nonfiction that examine the relationship between “Nature” and human flourishing. Representative figures include Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, Annie Dillard, Camille Dungy, Wendell Berry, Terry Tempest Williams, Barry Lopez, Gary Snyder, Doug Peacock, Lauret Savoy, and Robin Wall Kimmerer.
*Prerequisite: Religion and Ethics
*Successful completion of the course also garners English credit
Offered spring semester