Image of the atom engraving on the wall of McNulty Hall.

The Catholic Intellectual Tradition

at Seton Hall University

What is the Catholic Intellectual Tradition? 

As a Catholic university, Seton Hall exists to participate in the ongoing interaction of faith and reason in the collaborative and cumulative pursuit of truth. The history and practice of this pursuit across diverse times and places is the Catholic Intellectual Tradition.

The Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT) is a rich and diverse two-thousand-year conversation that springs from the encounter between human culture, thought, and practice and the incarnation of God’s Word in Jesus of Nazareth. Because God is the Creator of heaven and earth who takes on human nature in Jesus Christ, all human endeavors, discourses, practices, and forms of life lie within the concern of Catholic intellectual life, as do all forms of cultural expression from the natural and human sciences to music and poetry, from political and economic theory to architecture and healthcare.

As an archdiocesan university, Seton Hall participates in this tradition which enriches its university life in several ways. It commits the university not only to educational breadth but also to depth: to educate and to exercise concern for the whole person, to recognize the dignity of each person in exercising virtues such as justice, solidarity, intellectual integrity, and the stewardship of creation, and to practice servant leadership in the pursuit of the common good for all.

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CIT and the University Core 

Learn how the Catholic Intellectual Tradition is celebrated throughout Seton Hall's Core curriculum. 

News and Events

Agape Latte
EventNovember 16, 2023

Agape Latte

Agape Latte is a monthly student-faculty coffeehouse hosted by the Center for Catholic Studies and Campus Ministry. After a student-led “opening act,” students invite a Seton Hall faculty member to share a personal story of faith from their life. Free coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and light food is provided. This event is open to the entire Seton Hall community.

what

Great
Minds

Can Do

Professor Thomas Rzeznik, Ph.D.

Understanding American Catholicism

Professor Thomas Rzeznik, Ph.D. traces the history of American Catholicism in his co-edited book from Cambridge University Press.

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