Pre-Theology
Continue Your Religious Studies
Prepare for seminary with a major in
Christian leadership or religious studies.
The Association of Theological Schools lists the fields you should study before you begin seminary. This list varies from school-to-school, so your DWU adviser will serve as a great resource in your planning process. Regardless of your major, Dakota Wesleyan will prepare you well and support you in your seminary search.
Pre-Theology Courses
Courses in Dakota Wesleyan’s Christian leadership and religious studies majors will guide your journey to faith-based ministries that appeal to you.
REL 450 Internship
3 Hours
REL 360 Death, Dying, and Life after Death
3 Hours
The course explores the biological process of dying, the various meanings that cultures attach to death and what different world religions teach about life after death. The course gives attention to near-death experiences, the process of grieving and the biblical concepts of immortality of the soul, resurrection of the body and eternal life.
REL 490 Religion Capstone
3 Hours
The capstone course brings the student learning experience to its apex. It will include a research project which will be presented publicly. Prerequisite: REL 112, REL 210 and REL 340.
REL 461 Travel Seminar
3 Hours
The seminar provides credit for travel on mission trips or visits to important sacred places. The course includes background reading and evaluative reports.
REL 314 World Religions
3 Hours
This course is a comparative survey of the major religious systems of the world, both Eastern and Western, with emphasis on those religions currently in practice.
REL 323 Biblical Interpretation/Proclamatn
3 Hours
This course will introduce students to best principles and practices for biblical interpretation. The class will explore the history of biblical interpretation, biblical interpretation as it is practiced within the Bible itself and various theories of text interpretation. The class will seek to train students in best practices for teaching and preaching the scriptures in a church context. Prerequisites: REL 210, REL 215 or REL 216.
REL 302 Faith and Reason
3 Hours
This class will explore the tensions between faith and reason, the reasonableness of historic Christian Faith and the tensions between religion and science. It will shed light on questions concerning belief in God, the scriptures as divine revelation, views on interpretation of the biblical creation stories, science and design inferences from science.
PHL 220 Introduction to Ethical Issues
3 Hours
This course examines ethical decision making in the context of contemporary issues that are a part of our personal and social life, such as lying, sexual morality, capital punishment, war and euthanasia.
REL 112 Christian Faith and Practice
3 Hours
This course will explore the intellectual content of historic Christian faith as it has been expressed in the ecumenical creeds and other features of the Christian theological tradition.
REL 355 Spiritual Formation II
1 Hours
Students will meet with a spiritual director for the purposes of spiritual study, devotion and growth. Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor. Repeatable for two credits
Get to Know Your Professors
Learn how to become a pastor. Our low student-to-teacher ratio offers valuable one-on-one interaction with professors.
Joel Allen, Ph.D.
Professor of Religion and Philosophy | Director of the McGovern Center
