Christianity and Culture - St. Gregory The Great
Faculty
Program Coordinators:
Dr. Farrell O’Gorman (Chair)
Dr. Patrick Wadden
Program Mission
Building on the foundational knowledge of the Western tradition emphasized in Belmont Abbey College’s core curriculum, the minor in Christianity and Culture is designed to help students attain a deeper understanding of how Christian thought and practice engage culture (broadly interpreted). Specifically, the minor incorporates the study of Christianity’s roots in the Mediterranean, stages of growth in Europe, expansion to the Americas, and current global status. Students will explore how Christianity has engaged in intensive dialogue with distinct cultures—sometimes cooperative, sometimes combative, always transformative—and will thereby become better prepared to bear witness to its continuing potential to do so. They will also become more aware of both real historical differences and ecumenical possibilities in Christian thought and practice. Ultimately, students in the minor will better understand the relationship of Christianity to culture in their own time and place. They will be able to articulate that relationship in conversation with a variety of audiences and to translate and connect their experience of the Benedictine heritage on our campus to the world beyond it.