Spirituality Studies

Why Spirituality?

Spirituality, religion, and culture play an important role in health and healing. It is important to recognize and understand a variety of spiritual and religious values, beliefs, and practices.

While this major is primarily structured around Jewish precepts, those who are not Jewish would benefit from this program of study and can structure their program around their own religious faith.

Today, our health care systems are aware of the spiritual/health linkage.  To meet the needs of a spiritually and culturally diverse patient population, the health care system is evolving in its approach. Health care providers are beginning to understand the need to deliver compassionate, effective care and meet their patients' spiritual needs.

As with the health care system,  Jewish society has changed.  No more is spiritual healing in the domain of Tzaddikim and Kabbalists alone.  We have entered a new era in history where spirituality is flooding the world. Jews and non-Jews are tapping into the Torah for its treasures. The Torah, Kabbalah and other Jewish areas of study provide an incredibly rich tradition of spirituality and healing.

The goals of the major are: to introduce students to the self-understanding of contemporary religious groups; to give a foundation for appreciating the spirituality of the communities of other faiths, which combines theoretical and experiential knowledge; to help students see the connection between the ritual and the metaphysical dimensions of the holy days; to approach issues of long standing disputes from a spiritual perspective as one way of healing societal and historic conflicts; and, to understand the spiritual connection with environmental and ecological issues and its application to world healing.

Healing Is Our Birthright

As previously mentioned, the spirituality studies program has a heritage in the Jewish culture but is structured for each and every culture.  This is due to the fact that every culture which has ever existed had a system of healing. In Judaism healing has been bound to Jewish spirituality, our religious/spiritual tradition. Many Jews, and those of other faiths, in search of spirituality flocked to the Eastern religions because they couldn't find it in Judaism.

Originally, Jewish energy healing and mysticism was the work of the Temple priests. After the destruction of the Temple, Jews fought for their survival the last 20 centuries and put healing and spirituality on hold. It is time for it to be moved to its rightful place in our cultural center and for us to regain our respective birthrights.

The Foundation for Healing

Jewish healing is built on the foundation that healing and spirituality are synonymous. Those who pursue a spiritual connection will heal more effectively. 

Spirituality is the bedrock of Judaism. It is our source of values, compassion, healing, creativity, and abundance. What we call values today cannot be learned from books. They are learned from a connection to our spiritual component.

Judaism is a culture founded on spirit, our Divine nature. Spirituality is not a matter of how much you know its a matter of knowing yourself.  

Today's Needs

We are living in a period that represents the greatest technological changes since the dawn of mankind, and as a result humanity is experiencing new forms of suffering never before known to mankind:  heart disease and cancer, AIDS, depression, anxiety, stress, divorce, drug and alcohol addictions, and much more.

Many have reached their limit with these tragedies. Many are now seeking alternative lifestyles to cope with these problems. The person versed in  spirituality will be able to find inner healing and provide guidance to others.

The Program

Our program is geared for: 

• Those who have an interest in the spiritual nature of our universe  

• Those who have had training, or are licensed, in a healing therapy and wish to apply this training towards a degree.

There are three Levels of Study in our program

• Bachelor Level - for those who want an undergraduate degree with a major or minor in Spirituality.

• Master Level - for those who want a graduate degree with a major in Spirituality.

• Certificate Level - for those who want a certificate in Spirituality to show they have obtained knowledge in this area of study or to supplement a current degree.

Please note that any studies used towards a certificate program can be transfered into a degree program upon the request of the student. If the student already holds a Bachelor level degree the studies can be applied toward a Master level program as they are considered upper level courses.

Certificate Studies

The student must select and complete six of the following courses to meet the requirements of the certificate program. All courses will transfer towards a degree program as three credit hours unless otherwise noted.

·        Introduction to Spirituality

·        Spiritual Rituals

·        Spirituality and Culture (Four Credit Hours)

·        Spirituality and Religion

·        Life Cycles and Spirituality

·        Spiritual Assessment

·        Spiritual Screening

·        Spiritual Well-being (Four Credit Hours)

Course Fees

Course fees are as follows:

Spirituality Certificate Program - $540.00.