Zen–something quickly found during the few minutes of espacio that begin class and just as quickly lost when a theology teacher shatters the meditative silence with a question regarding this week’s homily.
As a Muslim, I can in no way reply: I’ve only listened to the homilies during masses here at Stone Ridge. The Muslim version of a homily, a khutbah, is given on Friday afternoons during school, so I am rarely able to hear them and contribute my takeaways to this theology discussion. Next to me sits a non-Catholic Christian, who also didn’t hear last Sunday’s homily–instead, she heard her minister’s sermon.
Stone Ridge’s course of study includes a theology program, which entails the study of the nature of God and religious belief. Accordingly, might that course of study therefore incorporate not a sole portrayal of the nature of God and religious belief–the Catholic one–but diverse, global faith traditions? According to the Pew Research Center, Catholics comprise about one-fifth of the United States population; should the other four-fifths of the population, also represented here at Stone Ridge, an independent and non-parochial academic institution, be accredited in a required theology class?
Little attention is called to the world’s rich diversity of faith traditions that exist and are practiced right here within our close-knit community. The only education I had here regarding Islam was a cursory paragraph introducing the Moors in my First Academic World History I textbook. Since not everyone takes the World Religions elective, many students graduate from Stone Ridge without a deeper understanding of diverse faiths.
Our introduction to those world religions is a senior theology elective offering, following three years of studying Catholicism. In a school that so values “a personal and active faith in God,” should that principle, that goal of Sacred Heart tradition, be limited to the faith tradition in which it was founded?
Julia Harrington, ’16, learned the little she does know about the Islamic faith “from [her] parents and world history class.” Similarly, Claire Hansen, ’16, has found herself “taking [her] own time to research other faiths online […] because [she] do[esn’t] have a lot of exposure to other religions.” Though “theology class has extremely limited access to information not [pertaining to] Catholicism,” Hansen has sufficient background knowledge regarding the world’s faith traditions. Have most other Stone Ridge girls researched world religions like Hansen, or will they leave Stone Ridge and enter a collegiate environment, with fewer Catholic students, with little introduction to the world’s major faiths?
The theology program at Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Massachusetts, where Mrs. Capehart attended high school and taught, does not solely study Catholicism. According to Mrs. Capehart, “in freshman year at Newton they [learn about] Judaism, [incorporating] contextual stuff. So a teacher might talk about a certain Jewish tradition today and relate it to Christianity, because obviously Christianity comes from Judaism. Students even learn some Hebrew and do a shabbat every other week.” First Academics at Stone Ridge study Christian Scripture; wouldn’t it also be beneficial to learn about the Jewish scriptures and traditions, since Catholicism itself branched off of Judaism?
While the next two years of theology at Newton focus on Catholic Social Teaching, similar to Stone Ridge’s theology program, world religions is a requirement for seniors rather than an elective. The path around the globe’s faiths starts out with an in-depth study of Hinduism, for approximately a third of the year, and continues with Buddhism and Islam. Mrs. Capehart began her senior year at Newton Country Day immediately following 9/11, and recognizes “how pertinent it was to understand something about Islam, […] because of the really frightening backlash against Muslims.” She felt “privileged” to possess such a solid grasp of what the Islamic faith truly stands for.
Like Mrs. Capehart, we are privileged to attend an institution that so values faith and at which we, as students and lifelong learners, can openly discuss and explore a major facet of life that secular schools cannot–theology.
Mr. Rook, who practices Judaism, has always found the theology department “very welcoming.” He recalls that his “first advisory asked [him] if [he] ate bagels everyday,” and then realized that stereotype obviously does not apply to all–in fact, most–Jews. “The theology department here has been very intentionally inclusive, which is why I’ve stayed here for so long,” says Mr. Rook.
“We are duty-bound by the mission of the school to teach Catholicism in a way that is consistent with the Gospel and the teaching of the Church,” relates Mr. Lemon. Stone Ridge is an independent educational institution, “but not in the sense that it can teach whatever it would like.” We are accountable to “the archdiocese, our bishop,” though we do “have room for academic exploration.”
Our Sacred Heart education is rooted in blending education with conviction–and we are so blessed to consider this an open forum, where candid discussion of faith and personal belief is encouraged.
Though I do wish my peers knew more regarding my own faith–about Ramadan, zakaat, and other Muslim customs–never have I felt uncomfortable exploring my faith journey with the Stone Ridge community, even at the age of four. At the beginning of goûter during my first day of Junior Kindergarten, as we were taught the Johnny Appleseed prayer, I looked around the alphabet rug to see rows of tiny palms meeting tiny palms, pointed upward toward God. Interrupting the rest of the rug’s uniform hands, I folded mine the way I had always known–not by meeting my palms together, but by placing them side by side and facing them upwards. I closed my eyes, listened, and knew that the prayer I was sharing with friends would ultimately reach the same God–one that we share.
In fact, my favorite Hindu proverb describes the way in which all drops of water that fall from the sky flow to the same rivers and seas. Similarly, I believe that our prayers, regardless of the form or place of worship–a mosque, a synagogue, a cathedral, a mandir, or Good Hall–end up in the same place, ascending to the same God.
Ms. Gonzales and I look forward to planning more inter-religious dialogue this year, highlighting the variety of faith traditions practiced by students. Please join us in inclusively celebrating a pillar of diversity–religion.
Leave a Reply