Department of Religion & Philosophy

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Professor: Stewart, Department Chair
Professors: LeMasters, Miller, Waters

Mission and Goals:

The Mission of the Department of religion and philosophy is to administer programs in the academic fields of Religion and Philosophy and to cooperate with other academic departments in furthering the pursuit of Christian liberal arts education on our campus. The Department maintains a Wesleyan commitment to unite intellectual achievement and vital piety in ways that foster both academic excellence and mature Christian discipleship. The Department intends for the program in religion to serve the mission of McMurry University by accomplishing the following goals:

1. Introduce all McMurry students to the academic study of religion through general education courses such as The Bible: Then & Now and Introduction to Christianity;
2. Offer advanced courses in Scripture, Christian theology and ethics, the history of Christianity, and other fields which prepare religion majors and minors for graduate school and/or seminary, and provide students majoring in other fields the opportunity to supplement their studies through advanced work in religion;
3. Offer a limited number of courses which introduce pre-ministerial students to the theory and practice of ministry in the church and parachurch contexts;
4. Provide religion students with opportunities for independent research through the religion departmental honors program;
5. Provide opportunities for McMurry students to participate in study abroad programs in religion.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Theta Alpha Kappa: TAK is the national academic honor society for religious and theological studies. Membership in McMurry’s local chapter (Alpha Lambda Kappa) is open to all students who have completed at least nine credit-hours in religion courses, and who maintain a 3.0 GPA. Members in TAK are recognized as such at graduation.

Departmental Awards: Each year one or more Cal C. Wright scholarships are presented to students showing outstanding potential for Christian ministry. Each year the George Steinman Award is presented to the McMurry junior religion major with the highest academic standing.

Departmental Honors. Please see the description of the McMurry University Honors Program  under the Special Program section earlier in the catalog.

Programs

• Religion, BA

• Christian Ministry Minor
• Ethics Minor
• Greek Minor
• Interfaith Studies Minor
• Philosophy Minor
• Religion Minor

Courses

• GREK XX95 - Independent Studies
• GREK XX99 - Special Topics
• GREK 2410 - New Testament Greek Grammar I
• GREK 2420 - New Testament Greek Grammar II
• GREK 3310 - Greek Translation I
• GREK 3320 - Greek Translation II

• PHIL XX99 - Special Topics
• PHIL 4X95 - Independent Studies
• PHIL 4X96H - Honors Tutorial
• PHIL 4X97H - Senior Thesis
• PHIL 1300 - Introduction to Ethics
• PHIL 2350 - Introduction to Philosophy
• PHIL 3310 - History of Modern Philosophy
• PHIL 3330 - Topics in Ethics
• PHIL 3340 - Great Books in Political Philosophy
• PHIL 3341 - Classical German Political Philosophy
• PHIL 3345 - Philosophy of Mind
• PHIL 4320 - Philosophy of Religion

• RELI XX99 - Special Topics
• RELI 4X95 - Independent Studies
• RELI 4X96H - Honors Tutorial
• RELI 4X97H - Senior Thesis/Project
• RELI 331(A-K) - Advanced Theology and Ethics
• RELI 332(A-E) - Advanced Ministry Studies
• RELI 334(A-K) - Advanced Biblical Studies
• RELI 336(A-K) - Advanced Church History Topics
• RELI 1310 - The Bible: Then and Now
• RELI 1330 - Introduction to Christianity
• RELI 2310 - Introduction to Christian Ministry
• RELI 2330 - Introduction to the Old Testament
• RELI 2340 - Introduction to the New Testament
• RELI 2350 - Religions of the World
• RELI 2370 - Faith & Doubt
• RELI 3335 - Introduction to Hospital Ministry
• RELI 3345 - Global Christianity
• RELI 4355 - Interfaith Leadership
• RELI 4388 - Internship in Christian Ministry
• RELI 4390 - Senior Seminar in Religion

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