CBCP-UST team conducts validation, discernment workshops on lights and shadows of Philippine Catholic Christianity
On October 10, 2025, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the…
Announcements
The Research Center for Theology, Religious Studies, and Ethics (RCTRSE) was established in 2013 in response to the need of the University to have a Center that will encourage faculty members to be actively involved in ethical and theological discourses through research and other forms of scientific activity to help clarify pressing issues that have religious and moral implications. The CRSE also aims to serve as the unit that sustains, with scientifically considered arguments anchored on the Teaching of the Church Magisterium, the advocacy of the University on current issues confronting the Church and the society, particularly those that touch on the issue of Faith and Morals.
Prof. fr. Rodel E. Aligan, O.P., SThD
Doctor of Sacred Theology
Assoc. Prof. Emmanuel D. Batoon, PhD
Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science
Prof. Maila M. Blanza, PhD
Doctor of Philosophy in Theology
Rev. fr. Louie R. Coronel, O.P., EHL
Doctor in Church History
Assoc. Prof. Philip L. Fuentes, SThL, PhD
Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies
Inst. Ivan Efreaim A. Gozum, MA
Master of Arts in Religious and Values Education
Asst. Prof. Joselito G. Gutierrez, PhD
Doctor of Philosophy in Family Studies
Assoc. Prof. fr. Cecilio Vladimir E. Magboo, O.P., SThD
Doctor in Sacred Theology (Ecumenism)
Master Teacher Angeli Francis S. Rivera, PhD
Doctor of Philosophy in Theology
Prof. Marites R. Redoña, PhD
Doctor of Philosophy in Theology
Assoc. Prof. Pilar I. Romero, LPT, PhD
Prof. Em. Alfredo P. Co, PhD
Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy
Prof. Marciana Agnes G. Ponsaran, PhD
Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy
Asst. Prof. Blaise D. Ringor, PhD
Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy
Prof. Jovito V. Cariño, PhD
Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy
Rev. Fr. Christopher P. Garinganao, O.P., PhD
Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy
Asst. Prof. Levine Andro H. Lao, PhL-MA, PhD
Doctor of Philosophy, major in Philosophy
Rev. fr. Felix F. delos Reyes, O.P., PhL-MA
Master of Arts in Philosophy
Licentiate in Philosophy
The RCTRSE envisions itself to be a wellspring of scholars who are adept at expounding on and advancing knowledge in the fields of Theology, Religious Studies, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophical Ethics, Thomistic Studies, and Dialogue with Cultures and Religions in Asia, and competent to develop well-grounded discourses in the service of upholding the stand of the Church and the University on pressing issues that have religious and moral relevance.
The RCTRSE aims, through its research programs and organized scientific activities, to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of Theology, Religious Studies, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophical Ethics, Thomistic Studies, and Dialogue with Cultures and Religions in Asia. Also, it aims to serve as the unit that sustains, with scientifically considered arguments anchored on the Teaching of the Church Magisterium, the advocacy of the University on current issues confronting the Church and the society that touch on the issue of Faith and Morals.
The Research Center for Theology Religious Studies and Ethics (RCTRSE) is one of the research units under the Office of Research and Innovation, whose area of research is in the fields of Theology, Religious Studies, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophical Ethics, Thomistic Studies and dialogue with Cultures and Religions in Asia. It was established in 2013 through the mandate given by Rev. Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, OP, Rector of the University, in response to the need of the University to have a Center that will encourage faculty members to be actively involved in discourses through research and other forms of scientific activities that will help clarify pressing issues that have religious and moral implications, and also to promote research in the said fields with the end view of contributing to the advancement of knowledge.
The Center was preceded by the Center for Contextualized Theology and Ethics (CCTE) established in July 2002 by the then Rector, Rev. Fr. Tamerlane Lana, OP, with Fr. Vicente Cajilig, OP, as its first Director. In 2006 the Center was restructured, giving birth to two separate units, namely, the John Paul II Research Center for the Ecclesiastical Sciences (JPIIRCES) under the directorship of Fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner, III, OP, and the UST Center for Ethics headed at first by Fr. Pablo Tiong, OP, and then by Fr. Fausto Gomez, OP. Both research units were dissolved in 2008. The establishment of the RCTRSE, which was initially named Center for Religious Studies and Ethics (CRSE), addresses the lacuna in the research configuration of the University in the areas of Theology, Religious Studies and Ethics, which were left to the personal initiative of the faculty researchers interested in the said fields of study without an organized system of support coming from the University since the dissolution of the said two Centers. The Center was given its current name in 2019, with the insertion of the term Theology in its official name to address the distinction between the methodologies of Theology and Religious Studies.
The Center’s founding Director is Rev. Fr. Jannel N. Abogado, OP, D.Th.Pat.Sc., who served the Center from 2013 to 2022.
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