THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
School of Theology and Religious Studies
TRS 260 Christianity and Culture
Caldwell Hall
Spring 2009
Dr C. C. Pecknold
School of Theology and Religious Studies
The Catholic University of America
Caldwell Hall
Office Hours: MWF 2:00 – 3:00pm
Or by Appointment
3 Credit Hours
Introduction
This course displays the life and thought of the Church in her relation to western culture over the course of two
millennia. The readings for this course focus on the scriptural narrative, as well as patristic and medieval ways of
thinking about the Church as the Body of Christ on pilgrimage through time. In the case of Augustine the
relationship between Christianity and Culture is quite explicit. In other works, such as St. Benedict or St.
Thomas Aquinas, we will be examining Christianity through particular examples of how it is performed well in
life and thought. The relationship between power and the holy will be given special attention in our treatment of
the medieval period, as we also consider famous conflicts.
In addition to scriptural, patristic and medieval accounts, we will also look at contemporary ones. We will
examine the relationship between Christianity and Culture in the reformist spirit of the Second Vatican Council,
and William Cavanaugh will suggest the ways in which the Augustinian and Thomist strands of theology get
taken up in new ways in contemporary theology, especially in relation to issues of globalization and the relation
between the Church and national cultures. Finally, Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical on love, Deus Caritas Est, will
help us to think about the coherence of these different views in the light of Augustinian, Benedictine and
Thomist articulations of “Christianity and Culture.” Through these texts we will also gain an introductory grasp
of the discipline of theology by seeking to understand several of the most important theologians in Catholic
Christianity. Over the course of our study, we will be encouraged to re-examine how we understand the Church,
and also the culture we live in today.
Required Texts
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The Holy Bible, NRSV or Revised Standard Version (prefer The Holy Bible, RSV, Ignatius Press)
St. Augustine, The City of God, Penguin Classics edition (trans. H. Bettenson)
Gregory the Great, The Life and Miracles of St. Benedict
Maureen Miller, Power and the Holy in the Age of the Investiture Conflict
St. Thomas Aquinas, Holy Teaching: Introducing the Summa Theologiae (F.C. Bauerschmidt)
Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, Lumen Gentium and Dei Verbum [Available on-line at www.vatican.va]
William Cavanaugh, Theopolitical Imagination [pp. 9-52 and pp. 97-122]
Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est [Available on-line at www.vatican.va]
Course Objectives
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To learn the whole shape of God’s story told in the scriptures and interpreted in the Church.
To grasp the importance of theological learning by the Church, for the World.
To engage in conversations that include multiple, and differing points of view within a coherent frame.
To read and discuss ideas through different genres of theology, each in relation to one another:
scriptural, patristic, medieval, and modern.
To write clear, well-structured papers (begin with a thesis and use the readings to progressively build an
argument that supports the thesis, forming a clear conclusion).
Course Requirements
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Two essays
Weekly summaries
Regular attendance and participation
Keep up with the reading
Take careful notes on the reading and lectures in preparation for exams
Essays (40%)
Two short essays, each worth 20% of your final grade, will be written. These essays should be between 4-5
pages, double-spaced.
Exams (40%)
Two exams will be given, a Mid-term exam worth 20% of your final grade and a Final Exam worth 20% of your
final grade.
Participation, Presentation and Weekly Summaries (20%)
Your participation grade will take into account your (1) participation in class discussions, (2) participation in Friday
discussions and (3) reading record reflected in your typed weekly summaries of the course readings due each Monday at
the beginning of class (summarizing the points of the prior week’s reading). Your weekly summaries should be no
more than one page (double-spaced) and should consist of a brief summary of the reading and your brief
assessment of the reading. It may also include questions about the course material, which I will try to answer the
following week. These will not be handed back, but these will be a significant factor in determining of your
participation grade.
A Note on Absences
Absences mean that you have missed important content from the course. Even when students look at the
lecture notes of even the very best of note-takers, a loss of content has inevitably occurred. Most people have
good excuses for their absence, so I consider “excuses” unnecessary (except in the case of Student-Athletes)*.
Nevertheless, in the course of a term, it is reasonable that a student may miss one or two classes. I will
automatically excuse these, and not penalize you for missing these classes. Missing 3-4 classes, however, will
lower your participation grade by one full letter; missing 5-6 classes will lower your final grade by one full letter.
Missing 7-8 classes will lower your final grade by two full letters. Missing more than 8 classes will automatically
result in failure of the course.
*It is the responsibility of Student-Athletes to double-check that they have not been counted as absent when traveling for their sport.
Course Schedule
~This Course Schedule May Change at Any Time at the Discretion of the Professor~
Week 1
Saint Augustine in Roman Culture
Jan 12
M
Introduction to the Course
Jan 14
W
The Church in the Western World [City of God Book 1.Preface-13]
Jan 16
F
A Christian Critique of Greco-Roman Virtues [City of God Book 1.14-36]
Week 2
God’s Original City
Jan 19
M
No Class (MLK Jr Day)
Jan 21
W
Cult and Culture [City of God Book 10.1-7 and 10.19-20]
Jan 23
F
Creatio ex nihilo: Origins of the City [Genesis 1; City of God 11.1-8]
Week 3
On Pilgrimage to God’s New City
Jan 26
M
Cain and Abel After Eden [Gen. 2-9; City of God 11.9-23; 33-34]
Jan 28
W
Two Cities & Israel’s House Divided [Hosea 1-7; City of God 18.27-28 and 19.13-27 ]
Jan 30
F
Discussion Groups: Discuss “justice” in City of God 19.13-27
Essay 1: How does reference to Lucretia serve the overall argument Augustine makes in Book 1? What
sort of relationship between Christianity and Roman culture does it suggest more generally?
Week 4
Saint Benedict’s Pilgrimage
Feb 2
M
Western Monasticism [Life and Miracles, Chapters 1-16]
Feb 4
W
Saint Benedict and Pope Gregory [Life and Miracles, Chapters 17-38]
Feb 6
F
Discussion Groups: Discuss Life and Miracles
Week 5
Power and the Holy in Medieval Culture
Feb 9
M
The Rise of the Papacy [Power and the Holy, 1-16]
Feb 11
W
Pope and King: On Whose Authority? [Power and the Holy, 17-29]
Feb 13
F
Discussion Groups: Documents of Investiture Conflict [Documents 16-23; 28; 34-35; 42]
* Answer Question #4 on pg 174 in preparation for mid-term
Week 6
Saint Thomas Aquinas in Medieval Culture
Feb 16
M
The Gospel and Medieval Culture [Holy Teaching 11-24]
Feb 18
W
The Humanity of God [Matt 1-2; John 1; Holy Teaching 163-181]
Feb 20
F
Discussion Groups: Life and Teaching of Christ [Mt. 3-5; Jn 3-5; Holy Teaching 215-222]
Week 7
Following the Body of Christ to the Cross
Feb 23
M
The Death of Christ [John 18-19; Holy Teaching 223-244]
Feb 25
W
Resurrection [John 20-21; Philippians 2-5-11; Holy Teaching 245-248]
Feb 27
F
Mid-Term Examination
Week 8
~ Spring Break ~
Mar 2
M
No Class
Mar 4
W
No Class
Mar 6
F
No Class
Week 9
The Sacramental Imagination
Mar 9
M
How to Do Things with Sacraments [Holy Teaching 253-273]
Mar 11
W
Baptism [Holy Teaching 274-284]
Mar 13
F
Discussion Groups: Outline and discuss one of the disputations on the Eucharist
Week 10
The Eucharist and the Infused Virtues
Mar 16
M
The Eucharist [Holy Teaching 285-296; 302-305]
Mar 18
W
Nature, Grace, and Virtues [Holy Teaching 122-129; 133-144]
Mar 20
F
NO DISCUSSION GROUPS
Week 11
Neo-Scholasticism and Nouvelle Theologie
Mar 23
M
Neo-Scholasticism and Leonine Thomism [Handout]
Mar 25
W
Henri de Lubac on Nature and Grace [Handout]
Mar 27
F
Discussion Group: 1965 New Yorker Article on the Council
Week 12
Vatican II: Grace Perfects Nature
Mar 30
M
Dei Verbum [On Scripture – see www.vatican.va]
Apr 1
W
Lumen Gentium [On the Church – see www.vatican.va]]
Apr 3
F
Discussion: Gaudium et Spes [On the World – see www.vatican.va] Focus on para.22
Essay #2: Can Cavanaugh’s theo-political critique of nation-states and global economic culture be
reconciled to the spirit of Vatican II?
Week 13
Theopolitical Imagination: Grace Disrupts Nature
Apr 6
M
Church, State, and Culture: A Modern Narrative [Cavanaugh 1-52]
Apr 8
W
The World in a Wafer [Cavanaugh, 97-122]
Apr 10
F
No Class – GOOD FRIDAY
Week 14
Pope Benedict XVI: Love for the Life of the World
Apr 13
M
No Class – EASTER MONDAY
Apr 15
W
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger [Handout]
Apr 17
F
Discussion Groups: Cavanaugh’s World in a Wafer
Week 15
Deus Caritas Est
Apr 20
M
Eros and Agape [Deus Caritas Est pp. 1-23]
Apr 22
W
Being Charitable [Deus Caritas Est pp. 27-52]
Apr 24
F
Discussion Groups: Deus Caritas Est
Week 16
The Beatific Vision
Apr 27
M
The Last Judgment [Revelation 18-22]
Apr 29
W
The Desire for the Vision of God [Augustine, City of God 22.29-30]
May 1
F
Final Exam Review
Comprehensive Final Exam TBA
Expectations and policies
Academic honesty: Academic honesty is expected of all CUA students. Faculty are required to initiate
the imposition of sanctions when they find violations of academic honesty, such as plagiarism, improper
use of a student’s own work, cheating, and fabrication.
The following sanctions are presented in the University procedures related to Student Academic
Dishonesty (from http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrityprocedures.cfm): “The presumed
sanction for undergraduate students for academic dishonesty will be failure for the course. There may be
circumstances, however, where, perhaps because of an undergraduate student’s past record, a more
serious sanction, such as suspension or expulsion, would be appropriate. In the context of graduate
studies, the expectations for academic honesty are greater, and therefore the presumed sanction for
dishonesty is likely to be more severe, e.g., expulsion. ...In the more unusual case, mitigating
circumstances may exist that would warrant a lesser sanction than the presumed sanction.”
Please review the complete texts of the University policy and procedures regarding Student Academic
Dishonesty, including requirements for appeals, at
http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrity.cfm and
http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrity.cfm.
Accommodations for students with disabilities: Any student who feels s/he may need an
accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss
specific needs. Please contact Disability Support Services (at 202 319-5211, room 207 Pryzbyla Center)
to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. To read about the
services and policies, please visit the website: http://disabilitysupport.cua.edu.
University grades:
The University grading system is available at
http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad//gradesfull.cfm#II for undergraduates and
http://policies.cua.edu/academicgrad//gradesfull.cfm#iii for graduate students.
Reports of grades in courses are available at the end of each term on http://cardinalstation.cua.edu .