Religious Studies

Developing a Personal and Active Faith in God 

Year-long / Required 

The fifth-grade Religion program is rooted in Goal One of Sacred Heart education: to educate to a personal and active faith in God. Students explore their images of God and discover how their ideas of God are similar regardless of their faith traditions. They examine how God is revealed to people, including through the creation of the world and through the life and teachings of Jesus. They also learn the history of the Society of the Sacred Heart and deepen their understanding of the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart education.  Students learn about foundational beliefs of the Catholic faith, and they are encouraged to consider how their beliefs affect the moral decisions they make each day. Through the study of the sacraments, the Liturgy of the Mass and prayer, students learn how Catholics celebrate the continuing presence of God in their lives. They read scripture, experience community prayer and reflection activities, and celebrate the liturgical seasons and feasts of the church. Through individual and group activities, students are encouraged to grow in their understanding of their relationships with God and with one another. 

Prerequisite: None 
Grade level: 5 
Credit earned: 1.0 MS Religion 

Catholic Social Teaching & Living Goal 3 of a Sacred Heart Education   

Year-long / Required 

The eighth-grade religion program is rooted in Goals One and Three of a Sacred Heart education: to educate to a personal and active faith in God, as well as a social awareness which impels to action. In the first semester, students develop an understanding of creeds by definition and explore a variety of creeds, completing an illustration and written exercise expressing their own creed and/or faith traditions. Throughout the year, students also continue to develop a deeper understanding of Catholic beliefs and practices.   

In the second semester, students learn about Catholic Social Teaching and related topics, such as the dignity of the human person, poverty, homelessness, rights of workers and global issues. When opportunities for community service are available, students participate in a service program within the larger Seattle/Bellevue community.  Students spend time reflecting on their service experience in order to understand it in the broader context of what they are learning in the classroom. 

Prerequisite: None 
Grade level: 8 
Credit earned: 1.0 MS Religion 

Please note that this is a two-period, cocurricular class.

This integrated course fulfills both the social studies and Religion requirements for the 9th grade year. Religion and social studies content is fully integrated in all units, which are organized around the themes of colonization, health care, climate change, education, nationalism, and conflict and peace building. Students study world religions as a key component of understanding our global world and developing greater perspective-taking. Skills developed include geography, textual analysis and interpretation, inquiry, discussion, research and writing, and personal reflection. Students engage in case studies, seminar discussions, creative and real-world writing assignments, and Model UN. All 9th grade students take this class together, making it a formative part of the Forest Ridge 9th grade experience.

Year-long

Sophomore year is rooted in Goal Four of Sacred Heart education: the building of community as a Christian value. Sophomore year begins with an intimate study of Hebrew Scriptures as the founding experience and narrative of Christian values and community inherited through the Jewish context of its most influential members: Jesus, the Apostles, and Paul. With the Incarnation and the Trinity as the central focus, students will examine the earliest communal attempts at living out the teachings of Jesus. With a foundation in the beliefs, challenges, and models of the earliest Christian Church communities, students will analyze the past and contemporary life of the Catholic Church to identify the ways in which the teachings and Paschal Mystery of Christ is lived and proclaimed. Students will explore the dynamic and diverse nature of humanity, encounter the ways this same nature shapes Christian communities, and face the current realities and impacts of people who gather as communities founded by Jesus. This course is required for all sophomores and students who transfer into Forest Ridge in grades 11 and 12.

Prerequisite: None 
Grade level: 10
Credit earned: 1.0 Religious Studies

Our world desperately needs leaders who embody what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Using the work of Brene Brown in Dare to Lead and the Goals and Criteria that underpin the philosophy of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools and the Society of the Sacred Heart as a foundation for study, students will explore and deepen their personal leadership styles and learn about different models of leadership. Rooted in kinship, and informed by their study and personal growth, students will actively engage in service to their Forest Ridge community.

Many of the greatest masterpieces known to humankind were created out of a desire to understand, celebrate, and share an understanding or connection to the divine. Throughout the semester, students will both study the various eras of Christian art (Early Christian, Celtic, Baroque, etc.), as well as produce their own piece of art for each unit. We will focus on themes such as art as sacramentals, sacred space and architecture, as well as sacred symbolism seen throughout history. Students may earn credit for either a Fine Arts or Religion class.

One Semester

This course is offered every other school year. It will be offered next in the 2023-24 school year. 

Catholics believe that God is radically present and active in our world, not aloof and distant. As such, concepts central to the Catholicism, such as faith and doubt, forgiveness, and transformation, are ever present in the literature and art all around us, whether that expression is constructed by Catholics or not. In this course, students will explore a variety of texts, films, talks, and art to investigate the experience and impact of these concepts in our everyday life. Students will engage in regular reading and writing, critical conversations and Socratic seminars, artistic reflections, and film reviews. This is a literature-heavy course so interest in and desire to explore literary texts through the lens of religious concepts is important.

One Semester

Catholics believe that God is radically present and active in our world, not aloof and distant. As such, concepts central to the Catholicism, such as faith and doubt, forgiveness, and transformation, are ever present in the literature and art all around us, whether that expression is constructed by Catholics or not. In this course, students will explore a variety of texts, films, talks, and art to investigate the experience and impact of these concepts in our everyday life. Students will engage in regular reading and writing, critical conversations and Socratic seminars, artistic reflections, and film reviews. This is a literature-heavy course so interest in and desire to explore literary texts through the lens of religious concepts is important.

One Semester

Indigenous voices are present across our world, both historically and today. This course is part of our commitment to centering those voices that have been historically marginalized and oppressed. Students explore the past and present of indigenous peoples through a social justice lens, challenging Western concepts of "knowledge," "history," and "religion." Students will study communities around the globe, as well as those living and fighting for recognition in our own nation and region. Themes of origin, spirituality, language, legal structures, resistance, and reparations guide our inquiry, and students investigate personal and institutional opportunities for reconciliation today.

One Semester

Women In Religion gives students an opportunity to focus on the role women have played in religions across time and cultures. Students will examine the ways various religions interact with gender in their devotional beliefs, case studies focusing on women who have played important roles in religious communities and movements, and religious experiences of women in the contemporary world. With a focus on gender equality and social justice, the course will center texts of contemporary women’s theological scholarship in conversation with their own spiritual traditions.

One Semester
 

Social ethics investigates the moral dimensions of social structures and systems. This course will focus on the Catholic social ethics tradition and provide students with a broad but detailed introduction to classical theories of ethics, the relationship between theology and ethics, and contemporary ethical questions and frameworks. Students will apply these principles and frameworks to case studies in economics, politics, ecology, and conflict. Students will also be encouraged to examine their own moral beliefs in light of the course material.