By Kayla Denson / Features Editor
As students line up and flock to the front of the Carroll Center to receive the Eucharist during the school’s monthly mass, senior Mehak Kumar, who is Hindu, willingly stays behind in the stands and waits patiently for her friends to return.
Kumar is not the only one to choose to stay behind during mass or even penance services that the school provides. Numerous students like to exclude themselves from some of the catholic-based aspects of the school because of their own faith.
Bishop Amat Memorial High School is one that “seeks to form a community of faith-filled people committed to Christian truth based on the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church” as stated directly in the student planner given to each student at the beginning of the year. But how do non-Catholic students fit into this statement and Christian community that has been laid out before them?
Being of the Jewish faith, junior Rachel Shapiro expresses the positive atmosphere Amat creates even though she is not Catholic.
“I feel like I am different and special, people don’t treat me any differently,” Shapiro said. “They actually tend to be very enthusiastic and interested in learning things about my religion.”
As written in the Lancer Life, it is considered a prerequisite for admission that students mirror a Christian lifestyle through their actions at school and the Christian attitude shows up outside of religious events.
“This Catholic school benefits me more than a regular school would because the people are a lot nicer,” Kumar said.
In addition to the Christian-like community, Bishop Amat enriches its students with college prep curriculum, discipline, and successful sports programs. These factors draw the attention of all kinds of students despite their beliefs and backgrounds.
“I chose to attend Amat because the education and athletic programs are a lot better here,” Shapiro said.
Amat’s academic program thrives providing students with a wide range of classes and subjects to choose from. A Bishop Amat graduation requirement is to complete all four years of religion classes with a passing grade and an entire department is dedicated to doing just this.
“The entire school program seeks to instill a sense of values, integrating knowledge of God and his plan for creation into the entire curriculum of the school,” as written in the philosophy and history of Amat.
What is it like for non-Catholic students to sit in a required class that tests solely on their knowledge of the Catholic faith?
“I feel fine about the religion classes,” Shapiro said. “I see it as an opportunity to learn more about another religion.”
Even though it is a mandatory class to take, many students try to participate and utilize it as a learning opportunity.
“I like to pay attention and try to learn something even if I’m not Catholic,” said junior Donovan Bernardez, who is Christian.
Last year students were given the option to take a world religions class second semester of the 2013-2014 school year. It ultimately shows that Bishop Amat is open to all religions and faiths of its students and would even like to expand their knowledge to other religions throughout the world.
