As a college preparatory school that is not affiliated with any religion, Blake prides itself on pluralism and academic excellence. Although Blake is indeed not a religious institution, many students, teachers, and faculty members alike practice a wide variety of religions. Dialogue tends to be evaded more often than not when religion comes up in passing, classroom discussions, or academic texts. This said evasion isn’t necessarily a result of people being uncomfortable, but rather some people may not value the education of religion, which is problematic.

A school wide reaction took place as Kim Phüc spoke at a symposium on October 11th about god’s role in her horrific experience as a Vietnamese citizen during the Vietnam war and how her life has been effected since then. Although much of the community was enthralled with her life story and how she has overcome so much adversity, as she began to talk about how religion has greatly impacted her and assisted her through much of her life, there was a sudden shift in the crowd.

Today, millennials and even high school students are collectively moving toward a less religious group. As a result, religion has become quite a polarized topic much like politics in today’s day and age. A common misconception is the association of political beliefs and religious beliefs, which adds to the difficulty of discussion. There is a good fear that people hold not to offend other people. Making people more tentative and reluctant to speak.

Religion is a personal and individual entity. There isn’t really a right and wrong. It is subjective and based on one’s moral compass, but learning about religion is apart of education. It is not anti-intellectual endeavor to read religious texts. It is our duty to seek out discussion in effort to learn, diversify, and challenge one another.