New Jersey Catholic Experience

Catalog description

The presence of Catholicism (Latin and Eastern Rites) from a social, cultural, ethnic, and historical context within the development of New Jersey life from the 1600s to the present day is a central focal point of this course. Although the focus of this class is mainly conducted from a local perspective, the religious foundations of the Catholic Church are universal. New Jersey is a deeply diverse and populous state that serves as a microcosm of the world in various ways. With this in mind, students who were born, or have some connection to church and state (from limited to life-long alike) have the opportunity to learn more about their own genealogical links and those of others who might have ties to Europe, Central America, South America, Asia, and/or Africa by way of the Garden State. Not only is this class designed to look at the evolution of the Catholic Church in New Jersey geographically, and as a religious body, but also how it involves the value of personal development within a wider context through many of the makers of history and writers inspired by the faith statewide.