Department of Religion
Fahy Hall, Room 322
(973) 761-9480
shu.edu/religion/
Faculty: Brill (Cooperman/Ross Endowed Chair of Jewish-Christian Studies and Director of Graduate Studies); Frizzell (Director, Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies); Sciglitano (Interim Executive Director of the Sister Rose Thering Fund for Education in Jewish-Christian Studies); Slutsky (Oesterreicher Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish-Christian Studies)
Faculty Emeriti: Bossman, Finkel
The Department of Religion offers a Master of Arts degree in Jewish-Christian Studies, a Bachelor of Arts degree and minor in religious studies, as well as select graduate courses in religious studies.
Jewish-Christian Studies
Fahy Hall, Room 240
(973) 761-9751
The Department of Religion awards the Master of Arts degree (36 credits) and graduate certificate (12 credits) in Jewish-Christian Studies. The curriculum covers all aspects of the relationship between Jews and Christians - their respective values and traditions.
Studies build critical academic bases for understanding Christians and Jews historically and phenomenologically. A Jewish-Christian critical awareness will equip graduates for many facets of interreligious and multicultural encounters.
Courses are rooted in the study of sacred texts in their historical and socio-religious world context, utilizing critical methods to promote an honest and in depth analysis of the individuals and communities that produced them. Courses examine the religious, ethical and social issues that are central for understanding Christians and Jews today through cross- cultural studies and dynamic analysis.
The program is ideally suited for teachers in public, private and parochial schools; education and ecumenical administrators; clergy and seminarians; as well as generalists who seek the means to explore Jewish and Christian studies. Visit the website.
The Foundation for Judaeo-Christian Studies
The Foundation for Judaeo-Christian Studies has supported the Master of Arts program in Jewish-Christian Studies since its inception in 1975. In addition to support for the administrative services of the program and an endowment for Walsh Library to purchase educational materials in the field, the Foundation sponsors the H. Suzanne Jobert Scholarship Fund which offers full or partial tuition assistance for matriculated students. Applications may be made to the program director. In addition to a commitment to complete the M.A. program and demonstrated financial need, the student should present an essay explaining how his or her participation in this program will lead to some contribution toward understanding and amity between Christians and Jews. Because funding is limited, the three criteria for acceptance are evaluated carefully by the scholarship committee.
The Sister Rose Thering Fund for Education in Jewish- Christian Studies
Interim Executive Director: Anthony Sciglitano, Ph.D.
Program Director: Yolanda Sheffield Williams
The Sister Rose Thering Fund (SRTF) for Education in Jewish-Christian Studies is a community-outreach program of the Jewish-Christian studies graduate program at Seton Hall University. Its mission is to advance the legacy of Sister Rose Thering by fostering understanding and cooperation among Jews, Christians, and people of other religious traditions through advocacy and education.
Cooperman/Ross Endowed Chair of Jewish-Christian Studies
The Cooperman/Ross Endowed Chair of Jewish-Christian Studies in honor of Sister Rose Thering was created in 2007. The endowed chair allows the Department of Religion to increase its course offerings in the modern period of Jewish history and Jewish-Christian relations. It is held by Rabbi Alan Brill, Ph.D.
Admission
In addition to the general University requirements for admission, the department strongly recommends an interview or suitable correspondence with the Program Director to determine the objectives of the student in relation to the resources of the Program.
Students working for a degree normally gain an elementary knowledge of Hebrew early in the program, allowing them to enter the Hebrew mind-set of the Biblical writers.
With the approval of the department chair, professional, graduate and sufficiently advanced undergraduate students may take individual courses without fulfilling the above requirements. Participating auditors will be accepted for most courses.
Note to Students: The following listing represents those courses that are in the active rotation for each department, i.e., have been offered in the past five years. Some departments have additional courses offered more rarely but still available – to find the complete list of all official courses for a department, please use the “Course Catalogue Search” function in Self-Service Banner
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