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BTI Consortium | Last Updated April 21, 2026 - 6:00PM
INTERRELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP
CERTIFICATE (PRE-APPROVED COURSES)
School
Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry
TMCE7323
Comparative Religious Ethics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
FA26
This course aims to introduce students to the growing field of comparative theology as it applies to ethics. We begin with an overview to the method of comparative religious ethics by addressing foundational themes e.g. good and evil, freedom and bondage, authority and norms. We next explore specific texts in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, to discern how these traditions offer similar, complementary, or divergent ways of addressing these themes in comparison to Christianity. Finally, we conclude by applying these approaches to a range of topics, e.g. war and peace, inequalities in wealth and income, virtue, and ecology.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Scheid, Daniel P
W
04:00PM-06:20PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Professor
3
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston College Theology Department
THEO5007
Mahayana Buddhism: Thought and Practice
BTI Category
Semester
Buddhist Studies
FA26
This course explores Mahayana Buddhist thought, meditation practice, narrative, and ritual practice across Asia. We consider texts ancient and modern. After a basic introduction to Buddhism, we take up topics ranging from meditation, to compassion, nirvana, emptiness, Buddha nature, Zen, and Mahayana Buddhist ethics. Our focus is on fundamental theological questions: What are the causes of suffering? How can meditation and ethical practices illuminate sufferings causes, and put an end to them? What is the state of unconditioned awareness, freedom, and joy that lies beyond suffering? Most importantly, what does this all have to do with me? No background in Buddhism is required.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Vale, Matthew
TR
12:00-1:15PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Professor
3
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
UGRAD/GRAD SPLIT
School
Boston College Theology Department
THEO5376
No Place Like Home? Theologies of Community, Exile, and Belonging
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
FA26
This course in comparative ecclesiology examines the concept of community, concentrating primarily on Christianity and Islam. Drawing on scripture, premodern classical texts, contemporary ecclesiology, rites of initiation, and lived practice, students explore themes of home, hospitality, exile, and what it means to belong. The course compares Christian and Muslim visions of the Church/umma, practices of inclusion and exclusion, and theological responses to migration, diaspora, and marginalization. Through close reading and comparative analysis, the course asks how religious traditions shape identities, boundaries, and possibilities for belonging in a fractured world. For graduate students and advanced undergraduates.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Welle, Jason
W
10:00AM-12:25PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Professor
3
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
UGRAD/GRAD SPLIT
School
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary-Hamilton
AP/WM644
Introduction to Confucianism and Taoism
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA26
Confucianism and Daoism (Taoism) are no doubt two of the most influential religious traditions in Asia, and deeply shaped the cultures in the East Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, and China. As East Asia has been emerging as a global political and economic powerhouse, its cultural religious and cultural heritages also receive growing attention. In the recent centuries these two traditions extended their influences globally through various channel including East Asian diaspora. The rise of Korean and Chinese Christian communities has brought to the fore the needs to contextualize Christian faith in East Asian cultures.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Yao, Xiyi
FS
Fri 6:30-9:30pm; Sat 8:30am-4:30pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Professor
3
Online?
Y
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Friday Evening, Saturday all day: Sept. 18-19, Oct. 16-17, Nov. 13-14
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 2507
Fallen Angels
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA26
This course surveys Jewish and Christian traditions about fallen angels beginning with the oldest attested articulations in relation to the Flood, especially in Enochic and related traditions, and tracing late antique and medieval reinterpretations within and between Judaism and Christianity, from the Epistle of Jude to Sefer Hekhalot. Readings will include selections from apocryphal, biblical, magical, mystical, Patristic, and Rabbinic corpora, and key themes will include the origins of sin, aetiology of magic and civilization, the enduring impact of non-canonical writings, and the shared ideas of an antediluvian past among different religious groups in Late Antiquity. Although the class will focus on premodern Judaism and Christianity, students will have opportunities to explore later trajectories and transformations, from Islamic angelology to Japanese anime.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Reed
T
09:00am-11:45am
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Professor
4
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
HI-539, Sect 1
Interrogating Abraham: Examining Intersections between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA26
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have often been called the Abrahamic Religions, as they all claim the Patriarch Abraham?. To what extent do these three faiths identify with him, define him, and share him? This course will use an interdisciplinary approach to problematize the Abrahamic identities of early Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities, their views of the Patriarch, and how such identities have guided and affected past and contemporary inter-communal relations. Attention will be given to how sacred scripture, contemporary literature and film shapes and provide meaning for relations today. Course fulfills the following curricular requirements:
MAIRS - Ministerial Studies: Beliefs and Practices
MAIRS - Interreligious Studies: Elective
MAIRS - Islamic Studies: Religious Pluralism
MAIRS - Islamic Studies: Elective
MAC: Elective
MAC - Islamic Chaplaincy: Elective
Professor
Class Day & Time
Grafton
M
5:00-7:00pm
Grading Option
Letter
Professor
3
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
IP-613
Identity and Otherness in Religious Communities
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA26
There is a tendency within individuals and societies to organize and collectively define themselves along dimensions of difference and sameness. This course uses the framework of �otherness� and �belonging� to explore how othering becomes structured and embedded within religious communities. In other words, what are the dynamics, processes, and structures that engender marginality and persistent inequality within our own religious communities? We will use an intersectional, interdisciplinary, and dialogical approach to examine essential concepts such as individual and group identity formation, expression, and boundaries; the dual sides of social cohesion and internal conflict; prejudice and power within religious communities; dealing with the emotional and social costs of leading justice-oriented change; and how identity, power, and privilege varies across contexts. In addition to investigating these forces that contribute to othering, we will also identify the interventions that may mitigate some of these forces, turning toward sustainable solutions that address othering through experiential learning such as site visits and MAP project-related ethnographic study. Course fulfills the following curricular requirements:
MAIRS - Interreligious Studies: Elective
MAIRS - Islamic Studies: Elective
MAC - Chaplaincy Elective
MAC - Islamic Chaplaincy Elective
MAP - Elective
Professor
Class Day & Time
Norton
W
9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Grading Option
Letter
Professor
3
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Sept. 2 & 23; Oct. 7; Nov. 4 & 18
School
Hartford International
RS-525, Sect 2
American Religious Realities: Spiritual Leadership in Time of Crisis
BTI Category
Semester
Leadership Formation & Ministry Skills
FA26
As part of the MAIRS curriculum, this course facilitates an understanding of the scope of America�s religious diversity: the nature of its current complexity and factors contributing to its emergence; the mutually influencing interactions between religious communities (their convictions, practices, and structures); and the American contextual trends, such as immigration, political issues, and social drivers like race, ethnicity, or gender. This course is taught with faculty of different traditions or backgrounds, and builds knowledge and skills for study within a multifaith setting. Course fulfills the following curricular requirements:
MAIRS - Core course
Professor
Class Day & Time
Ansari/Watts
W
5:00-7:00pm
Grading Option
Letter
Professor
3
Online?
Y
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
ONLINE SECTION
School
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox
PAST 7360
World Religions
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA26
We will look at humanity's quest for God from the beginning of time, and how four of the world's major religious traditions�Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism�developed. Along with their history, we will study their main teachings, worldview, and practice. Part of the class will include visiting temples of the other faiths. We will also look at the phenomenon of atheism and its own religious perspective. With each of these different religions, we willdiscussOrthodox Christianity's understanding of other religions and how we are to dialogue and interact with them, trying to discover elements that could be acceptable within Orthodox Christianity, and how these bridges could be used in sharing our faith within other religions. This Course fulfills the World Religions/Ecumenism requirement.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Rev. Luke A. Veronis
T
6:40-9 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Professor
3
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
World I-V
School
Boston University Graduate Program in Religion
CASRN 638/CASRN 338
Philosophy and Mysticism, Jewish and Islamic Perspectives
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy
FA26
An interactive seminar � a thematic introduction to mysticism and philosophy, with a focus on the dynamics of religious experience. Readings will be drawn from medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy; Sufi mysticism and philosophy; Kabbalah, Sufi poetry, Hebrew poetry from the Golden Age of Muslim Spain.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Lobel, Diana
TR
12:30-1:45pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Professor
4
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry
TMPS7182
Pastoral Care in/with Communities of Faith: Creating Networks of Care
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
FA26
Life is in inherently relational, multidimensional, interconnected, and located within larger systems and structures - i.e. communities. Thus, our practices of pastoral care and counseling must likewise attend to the multidimensional and systemic nature of relationality. This course uses an interdisciplinary approach to explore personal, pastoral, and communal processes of creating networks of care in communities of faith and para-church organizations. Both pastoral and lay leaders will learn how to engage and utilize systems theory, conflict theory, therapeutic skills and processes, and theological and spiritual resources to navigate conflict, foster dialogue, and build constructive solutions and possibilities in community as part of an overarching practice of pastoral care. Particular attention will be given to one's self-in-relationship and the capacity to remain a non-anxious, non-reactive constructive presence.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Roozeboom, William D
ASYNC
ASYNC
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Professor
3
Online?
Y
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston College Theology Department
THEO5358
How Israel Matters
BTI Category
Semester
Judaic Studies
FA26
Israel, both the people and the land, are central to Jewish theology as concrete manifestations of Gods covenants. This course will explore the evolving meanings of these concepts from the Bible to today, looking at themes like peoplehood, life in the land, exile from it, and (messianic) return. The second part of the course will focus specifically on the theologies of a range of modern Jewish thinkers, with the goal of helping students to understand aspects of contemporary Israel and its meaning to world Jewry.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Langer, Ruth
TR
03:00PM-04:15PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Professor
3
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
UGRAD/GRAD SPLIT
School
Boston College Theology Department
THEO7507
Theology of Religions/Comparative Theology
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA26
This seminar will focus on the various theological positions which have been developed with regard to the reality of religious pluralism as well as on the relationship between theology of religions and comparative theology. While we will focus mainly on the works of Christian theologians, we will also pay attention to analogous developments in other religious traditions.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Cornille, Catherine M
W
02:00PM-04:25PM,
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Professor
3
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Counts for core class for IL certificate
School
Harvard Divinity School
HDS 1385
Religion and Nationalism: The Cases of Religious Zionism and Religious Anti-Zionism
BTI Category
Semester
Judaic Studies
FA26
The rise of nationalism in the nineteenth century raised a variety of issues relating to the role of religion in that European project. This course will focus on the challenges, obstacles, and role religion played in the national project Our case study will be Jewish nationalism also called Zionism. We will explore religious Zionism and religious anti-Zionism as competing philosophical movements within Jewish modernity. The focus will be less on historical events, though they are important, and more on the philosophical and theological foundations of a variety of Jewish reactions to nationalism. We will read across the plethora of Jewish voices who weighed in on the monumental Jewish project in modernity.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Magid
W
01:00pm-02:59pm
Grading Option
Letter
Professor
4
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
DI-550
Introduction to Interreligious Studies
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA26
The gateway course to the MA in Interreligious Studies and a required course for the MA in Peacebuilding curriculum, Introduction to Interreligious Studies is an intersectional, integrative course that promotes deep understanding of worldviews different from one�s own. The course integrates theory and practice in exploring how diverse individuals and groups understand �religion� and how those with differing understandings relate to one another. The course cultivates the dynamic link between theory and practice as it engages in critical investigation of relations between people (whether individuals or groups) who orient around �religion� differently. As an introduction to Interreligious Studies, this course explores such themes as the meaning of �religion,� the discourse of �othering� and theologies of religious difference, comparative theology, interreligious hermeneutics, urban social history methodologies, interreligious dialogue, faith-based collaboration, and more. Course fulfills the following curricular requirements:
MAIRS - Core course
MAP - Core course
Professor
Class Day & Time
Mosher
R
7:00-9:00pm
Grading Option
Letter
Professor
3
Online?
Y
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Counts as core class for IL Certificate
School
Hartford International
HI-539, Sect 2
Interrogating Abraham: Examining Intersections between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA26
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have often been called the Abrahamic Religions, as they all claim the Patriarch Abraham?. To what extent do these three faiths identify with him, define him, and share him? This course will use an interdisciplinary approach to problematize the Abrahamic identities of early Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities, their views of the Patriarch, and how such identities have guided and affected past and contemporary inter-communal relations. Attention will be given to how sacred scripture, contemporary literature and film shapes and provide meaning for relations today. Course fulfills the following curricular requirements:
MAIRS - Ministerial Studies: Beliefs and Practices
MAIRS - Interreligious Studies: Elective
MAIRS - Islamic Studies: Religious Pluralism
MAIRS - Islamic Studies: Elective
MAC: Elective
MAC - Islamic Chaplaincy: Elective
Professor
Class Day & Time
Grafton
M
5:00-7:00pm
Grading Option
Letter
Professor
3
Online?
Y
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
ONLINE SECTION
School
Hartford International
RS-525, Sect 1
American Religious Realities: Spiritual Leadership in Time of Crisis
BTI Category
Semester
Leadership Formation & Ministry Skills
FA26
As part of the MAIRS curriculum, this course facilitates an understanding of the scope of America�s religious diversity: the nature of its current complexity and factors contributing to its emergence; the mutually influencing interactions between religious communities (their convictions, practices, and structures); and the American contextual trends, such as immigration, political issues, and social drivers like race, ethnicity, or gender. This course is taught with faculty of different traditions or backgrounds, and builds knowledge and skills for study within a multifaith setting.
This offering, taught by a sociologist and a theologian with extensive experience in religious anthropology methodology, will feature case studies, field work, and ethnography. Course fulfills the following curricular requirements:
MAIRS - Core course
Professor
Class Day & Time
Ansari/Watts
W
5:00-7:00pm
Grading Option
Letter
Professor
3
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox
PAST 6662 H1
Pastoral Care & Mental Health
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
FA26
Issues of mental illness and health continue to challenge pastors and ministers as they seek to guide their parishes and communities. Recent events related to the pandemic have increased the rates of mental illness in our communities, heightened the need for pastors to possess a basic level of competency related to understanding mental health and illness. Mental illness and health, how we define it, how we identify it, and how we address it calls into question how we understand God, human nature, the person, free will/personal agency, and the relationship that these issues, theologically, have with the broad field of mental health, commonly referred to as psychology. This class will explore these issues as they apply to the most prevalent issues of mental health that a pastor/priest/minister will encounter in the parish. Special emphasis will be placed on the relationship between theology and psychology and the role of the pastor/priest/minister in ministering to people struggling with issues of mental health in the parish.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Dr. Philip Mamalakis
W
2:10-4:30 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Professor
3
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Pastoral Care & Mental I-IV
School
St John's Seminary
TH652
Catholics and Muslims in the Western Tradition
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA26
The course explores the Western Christian views of Islam from the birth of Islam to the present. Commenting on primary and secondary sources, we will analyze religious, historical, theological, social, and cultural developments of the attitudes towards Islam within Christianity � particularly within Catholicism � showing both continuities and changes through history. The course is divided into four parts. Each lesson is organized around one or more topics that will be discussed using primary and secondary sources. Rather than the usual schedule of two-hours per week for a graduate elective at SJS, this course is scheduled for two-and-a-half hours per week since it will not meet during certain weeks of the semester, but it will fulfill the required minimum three-credit classroom hours.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Dr. Colombo
R
2:45-4:45 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Professor
3
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University Graduate Program in Religion
CASRN 683/CASRN 383
African Diaspora Religions
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
FA26
This course introduces students to religions of the African Diaspora, with a specific focus on the Caribbean and the Americas. Religious traditions such as Africanized Christianity, Cuban Santer�a, Haitian Vodou, Brazilian Candombl�, and African American Spiritualism will be explored.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Guillory, Margarita
MWF
12:20-1:10pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Professor
4
Online?
N
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
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