Religious Studies and Philosophy

Let’s think about big questions — questions about meaning and purpose, identity and community, ethics and destiny. At NMH, you’ll search for answers to your own personal questions — who you are and what your place in the world is. Our courses will provide some context. You’ll study the world’s religions, and learn about their influences upon one another, both historically and today. You might look deeper into issues of violence, war, and other troubling human behaviors, or explore philosophy, from Socrates to the existentialists.

Many of our courses take an interdisciplinary approach, recognizing that human experience is not as neatly divided as conventional academic departments.

In fact, NMH’s Humanities requirements for ninth and 10th graders introduce will you to this collaborative approach. With two teachers and academic credits in two different disciplines, you’ll examine the relationship between humans and their environment through literary and philosophical expressions. Then, you’ll explore the historical and traditional roles of the world’s religions, including their myths, symbols, and geographic and social systems. Our Humanities II program offers a travel option, which has allowed students to see how academic themes oplay out in the real world — in Brazil, South Africa, Spain, Morocco., India, and China

All of this — combined with passionate, caring faculty — will help you grow and begin your quest for truth.

• Humanities I: Religious Studies and Philosophy • Humanities II: World Religions (Travel option offered as safety guidelines allow: Brazil, Spain/

Morocco, South Africa, India, China) • Bioethics • Ethics • Global Ethics and Climate Change • Philosophy • Religion, Power, and Text:

Sacred Stories • The Creative Impulse: Religion and the Performing Arts • The Islamic Middle East • Theology of the Oppressed • World Religions and

Contemporary Issues

Please see the Curriculum Guide (bit.ly/NMH_ReligPhilos) for complete course descriptions.

Type of student Ninth grade Sophomore year Junior year or senior year

4-year students (option 1) Humanities I Humanities II Total credits required

2

4-year students (option 2) Humanities I World Religions and Contemporary Issues 2

3-year students

2-year students

1-year students Humanities II ½-credit elective 1.5

1 full credit or 2 ½-credit elective 1

½- credit elective 0.5

*ESL students must fulfill the religious studies requirement that matches the number of full years they are not enrolled in ESL.