Purpose

The purpose of the Certificate in Catholic Theology is to provide students with a course of study in the area of the foundations of Catholic theology. This course of study constitutes a partial fulfillment of the requirements for archdiocesan professional certification of lay ministers, and it may be used as a component of the Associate of Arts in Ministry (AAM) degree or the Bachelor of Arts (AB) degree.

This course of study is available in a traditional classroom format in English and Spanish. This
course of study also may be completed in its entirety in an online format (English language only).

Certificate Goals

SHMS strives to instill in the recipients of the Certificate in Catholic Theology an ability to dem-
onstrate a basic understanding of the content of the Roman Catholic faith, as shown through the following competencies:
• Demonstrate the use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Sacred Scripture, and some
conciliar documents for the study of Catholic Theology.
• Identify basic tenets of the Catholic faith.