Notre Dame ranked as top university in the world for theology, divinity and religious studies
Quacquarelli Symonds, a leading global higher education company, has ranked the Catholic University of Notre Dame in Indiana as the top university in the world for theology, divinity and religious studies in their 2020 World University Rankings, released in London on Wednesday.
The QS rankings by subject matter are based on the academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact of each of the world’s top 1,000 universities included in the rankings.
American schools made up more than half of the top 10 schools for theology, divinity and religious studies and they are: University of Notre Dame, University of Oxford, Harvard University, Durham University, University of Cambridge, Yale University, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Duke University, University of Chicago, and Boston College.
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The University of Notre Dame’s Department of Theology explains that even though they are “committed in a particular way to the interpretation and articulation of the Catholic tradition” they also study theology beyond denominational lines.
“Although Catholicity is neither quantifiable nor fully achieved anywhere, the department’s Catholic identity is reflected in the composition of its faculty, in the nature and content of its curriculum, and in its responsiveness to the intellectual and pastoral needs of the Catholic Church and to the intellectual and future ministerial needs of its students,” the school said.
“Notwithstanding our identification with the Catholic tradition, we comprise a wide range of religious perspectives. While the department’s central core is the Catholic tradition, the department is deliberately ecumenical; we are committed to dialogue with one another’s traditions because theology cannot be done adequately in a narrowly denominational manner,” it explained.
Thomas Stegman, dean of Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry, said in a release that the school’s strong showing in the QS rankings is a testament to the faculty and their push to become the world’s leading Catholic university and theological center.
“Our faculty, along with colleagues in the Theology Department in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, are recognized leaders in their respective fields,” Stegman said. “At the STM, we are committed to excellence, theological scholarship in service of the Church, and to forming agents of transformation for ministry. It is gratifying to be recognized accordingly in the latest QS Rankings.”
Richard Gaillardetz, Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology and chair of the Theology Department, agreed.
"The QS Rankings, which rate Boston College as one of the world's top graduate programs in theology, divinity, and ministry, simply confirms what those who are part of the Boston College community already know — that we have a world-class faculty and are successfully preparing future scholars to make a decisive contribution to the field of theology,” Gaillardetz said.
“When you combine the stature of Boston College with the resources provided by the other schools in the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium, it becomes clear that there are few cities in the world that can match the opportunities the city of Boston affords for graduate study in theology,” he added.
