Addiction is a pressing problem, affecting 17% of the US population (aged 12 and older), according the latest (2023) SAMHSA data.  Given the staggering number of people who suffer from substance use disorders, this course seeks to equip students to thoughtfully and compassionately engage those suffering from addiction.  The course will examine what addiction is from (social) scientific, theological, and experiential perspectives and put these models and experiences in conversation with a variety of themes such as “addiction, free will, and bondage,” “addiction, recovery, and theologies of salvation,” “addiction and the Church,” and “societal responses to addition.”  Throughout, students will critically examine the implicit and explicit theologies at play in societal, Church and individual responses to addiction, asking whether these theologies help or harm those with addition.