By Katie Johnson ’11, Staff Writer and Louise Lamb ’11, Feature Editor

Welcome to the United States, population 76.8 percent Christian.  You could argue that a country so dominated by one religion should look outward, and teach its youth about foreign cultures and creeds.  But what about starting with the basics?  Did you know that half of all high school seniors think Sodom and Gomorrah were married?  Or how about sixty percent of Americans cannot even name half of the Ten Commandments?  And realize that this results from a culture in which religion permeates politics, popular culture, and public opinion on just about anything?

Americans’ ignorance of the most prominent religion is, at best, upsetting.   Yet what about the other 23.2 percent?  A survey found that only 36 percent of high school seniors knew Ramadan is the Islamic holy month.  And if that doesn’t surprise you, 17 percent thought it was the Jewish day of atonement.  True, the teaching of religion in public schools has been the center of controversy for years, and the Supreme Court ruled against devotional Bible reading in public schools.  However, nobody ruled against the teaching of basic religious practices, symbols, and literature.  The general population cannot be entirely responsible for its own ignorance, particularly given that we heavily rely on schools to tell us what we need to know.  With religion at the center of so much national and international debate we need to know the basics.

But Newark Academy is a small “global academy”; we must be more religiously intelligent than the general American population, right? First off, in Freshman year, everyone takes Ancient World, where students learn the basics of the four “main” religions.  Those of us in the Middle School take “World Cultures,” and members of our faculty offer insights into religion through elective courses.  But does this in-class education translate to increased understanding and acceptance within the greater community?  Interviewed students think so.  Senior Tara Gadde thinks that “NA does a really good job with exposure to different religions, especially from classes like World Cultures and Ancient World; we learn the essential building blocks of almost all major religions and I think it’s really important to know these things […] Especially with the rising religious tensions in the world, NA does a really good job of making sure we understand the beauty of each one.”  Senior Joe Gerish agrees, saying that “NA does a great job of promoting awareness of other religions, but it also does a good job of promoting thinking for yourself and being independent.”

Aside from learning about religion in the classroom setting, Newark Academy also hosts religious speakers and has various clubs that unite communities of believers.  Senior Luke Hudleson thinks that “most people at our school are very well-informed […] because of the diversity of kids at our school and the curriculum’s ability to adhere to that [diversity].”  Similarly, Senior Callie Marx “thinks we [at NA] are definitely more knowledgeable than kids at public schools because we are exposed to more diverse opportunities at NA.”  But Callie also says, “People don’t really take the time to understand religions outside of their own.”

Senior Adrienne White says she thinks “there’s only really a religiously-conscious environment at NA for those who follow Judaism and Hinduism.”  Senior Nikki Blank believes that “although there are a lot of Jewish kids, there are still cases of people being anti-Semitic.  At a school that prides itself on being ‘global’ we should be able to say that there is a community of acceptance and tolerance among religions at all times.” Clearly there is a problem even in our own religious education.

If we are to call ourselves a truly global academy, Newark Academy needs to foster a deeper understanding of all religions in the community and in the world.  Senior David Webster is “positive that there is a lot more to know and learn [about other faiths].”  This religious understanding should be extended beyond the boundaries of the classroom.  Although we have a comparatively diverse religious education program at Newark Academy, we need to find a way to make every member of the community feel like they are an important and dynamic part of Newark Academy.  It is imperative that this void in the education system, at Newark Academy and elsewhere, be filled.   And if you laughed at those statistics at the top of the page, see if you can name five of the Ten Commandments.