USJ CHANGES FACULTY NAME | Christian Studies christened ‘Religious Studies’

USJ’s website yesterday was showing the new name of the faculty, but with the message and pic of outgoing dean Fr Eleutério

The University of Saint Joseph has officially changed the name of its Faculty of Christian Studies to the Faculty of Religious Studies. It has also appointed a new Dean for the Faculty, the Times learned.
As of yesterday, the university has changed the name of the faculty on its website. The notice of the appointment of the new Dean, which was issued on July 4, has also referred to the Faculty as the Faculty of Religious Studies.
USJ has always prided itself on the Faculty, as the university was the only local institution that ran this particular type of school with a clear focus on the theological issues of a particular religion. It is also known that people from different countries and regions of Asia, where Christians are persecuted, have come to USJ for the theological courses. Some of them later joined the clergy.
In the USJ webpage showing the Dean’s Message, it still displayed the message written by the former Dean, Father João Eleutério.
The professor said that the Faculty assumed the task of “faith seeking understanding” as a service to the society and the Church in Macau. It “offers a challenging experience to everyone who wants and has to deal with questions related with the ways to express faith and Christian beliefs.”
Prof. João Eleutério is a scholar from Portugal. Formerly a secretary of the Faculty of Theology at the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP), the professor had taught Theology of the Sacraments at the UCP.
The Faculty’s deanship has been filled by Prof Arnold T. Monera from the Philippines. He is a Filipino lay theologian and received his PhD in 2002 before becoming the Chairperson of the Theology and Religious Education Department of De La Salle University in Manila.
Prof Monera joined USJ in August 2008 and taught modules, or courses, in Scriptures, Theology and Biblical Greek.
The Times has tried to ask USJ about the reason for the change of Faculty name. However, the university did not reply by press time.
In mainland China, authorities are intensifying the crackdown on Christian churches, which could be an extension of an ongoing campaign to suppress the growth of civil society in the country, said Prof. Fenggang Yang, a sociologist and expert on religion in China at Purdue University, cited in a recent dispatch from the Associated Press.
The churches might have become a target because Chinese Christians, perhaps emboldened by the growth in the number of followers around them, are more likely to assert their rights, Yang said. JPL