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Sanctity of Life

  • Minor

The Sanctity of Life Program

The interdisciplinary Sanctity of Life minor explores questions of human dignity across the academic disciplines of theology, philosophy, science, politics, and social science. The minor is housed in the Theology Department and administered through the Saint Vincent Center for Catholic Thought and Culture (CCTC). Our desire is to provide a rigorous program based on an integrated understanding of human life to better orient ourselves to what Saint Pope John Paul II called a Culture of Life and a Civilization of Love. Deeply animated by our college’s mission as a Catholic, Benedictine, and liberal arts institution, the minor provides an academically robust program that fully explores a broad range of human-life questions with an open heart seeking truth, listening to others, and responding both courageously and charitably to the challenges we face as citizens and humans in the 21st century. Surveying the world today, the message of Life has never been more urgent.

Consider for instance perennial questions of human life emphasized by the COVID-19 pandemic such as:

  • How do we properly care for the elderly and most vulnerable members of our communities?
  • What is the foundation of human equality and justice?
  • How do we encourage a civil discourse that respects the dignity of our fellow citizens?
  • What is ethical and unethical in the areas of medicine and healthcare?

The purpose of this minor program is not to engage in partisan activities, but to better inform through academic excellence some of the public debates that ensnare our nation and the world. While there are a host of public policies to address at the local, state, and national level, the purpose of our program is academic, not activistic.

Undergraduate Programs

Curriculum Requirements

  • Requirements for a Minor in Sanctity of Life

    Sanctity of Life Minor (18 credits)

    Gospel of Life, Gospel of Creation 3 Credits
    Catholic Social Teaching 3 Credits
    Philosophical Anthropology 3 Credits
    Science and Bioethics 3 Credits
    Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties 3 Credits
    Empirical Analyses of Faith, Family, and Life 3 Credits

    In addition to the six required courses for the minor, students will be
    encouraged to take other electives related to the Sanctity of Human
    Life to further deepen their knowledge. Students will be encouraged to
    couple the minor with a service-oriented internship or project.

Program Highlights

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Students will identify the theological, philosophical, and scientific understandings of human life.
  • Students will understand the political and social contexts in which major policies and judicial precedents about human life are made.
  • Students will apply knowledge of human life to contemporary ethical and bioethical issues.

Undergraduate Programs
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