Intellectual Formation

Benedictines have always been lovers of learning, finding inseparable the desire for knowledge and the desire for holiness. Since beginning its first lay degree program in 1969, Saint Meinrad has helped to answer the Church’s call for “a well-educated, inquiring, and vocal laity” (Called and Gifted for the Third Millennium).

Beyond catechesis and faith formation, theological study develops an “understanding and appreciation of the Catholic faith, which is rooted in God’s revelation and embodied in the living tradition of the Church” (Co-Workers in the Vineyard, p. 42).

A rigorous, constructively critical engagement with the Church’s faith, while challenging, ultimately helps one to be a more effective, more theologically informed minister who can articulate the breadth, depth and complexity of the Church’s traditions.

Graduate courses at Saint Meinrad cover all aspects of the sacred sciences, including Scripture and its interpretation, dogmatic theology, Church history, liturgical and sacramental theology, moral theology and Catholic social teaching, pastoral theology, spirituality and canon law. As possible and appropriate, faculty members incorporate into their courses opportunities for ecumenical and interfaith engagement.

Weekend courses, summer or January intensives, and online and Web-hybrid formats make it possible to pursue a degree on a part-time basis, alongside work, family and other responsibilities. Click here for details.