The Theology Department directs students to the deepest and best of the Christian intellectual tradition and helps them understand how that tradition engages a pluralistic world. The department’s goal extends beyond merely offering courses in Bible or formal ethics and instead strives to integrate a substantive Christian perspective within the framework of the entire educational process.
Lower School students at both the Beaches and St. Mark’s Campuses are provided with Christian education and formation as part of students’ weekly resources. The Christian education curriculum presents concepts related to the biblical and historical doctrines of the Christian faith and fosters a respect for the various traditions of other denominations and faiths. Weekly Chapel services, classroom instruction, daily devotions, prayer, scripture memory, and the discussion and teaching of Biblical values help students develop an understanding of the Christian faith.
Middle School students, in the 7th and 8th grades, take introductory courses to the Old and New Testaments to introduce them to the basic message and genres of Holy Scripture. Students in Upper School begin their theological studies with a semester-long introductory course that explores the Nicene Creed as the guide to Christian doctrine and biblical texts which inform the understanding of creation, fall, covenant, and redemption. After completing the introductory course, students then have options for more specialized semester-long courses focused on exploring the Old and New Testaments respectively, a course focused on discipleship and ethics, and a course devoted to the writings of CS Lewis.
Episcopal schools invite all who attend and work in them—Episcopalians and non-Episcopalians, Christians and non-Christians, people of no faith tradition—to seek clarity about their own beliefs and religions and to honor those traditions more fully and faithfully in their own lives. Religious studies are meaningful, academically substantive, and age-appropriate; and intentionally foster dialogue with other faith traditions.