Andrew Lamprea ‘24
St Mark's School is a prime example of what a religiously affiliated institution like a boarding school should strive to be in today’s modern age. A far cry from the stereotypical oppressive religious boarding school, SM strives to promote the importance of personal choice, and the ideals of perennialism. This is all through the efforts of our religious faculty, namely Reverend Barbara Talcott and Reverend Katie Solter. Their openness to different perspectives and opinions in the classroom, as well as their enthusiasm when implementing religious aspects of different cultures in chapel services create a welcoming and warm environment for any budding theologian.
Boarding schools, especially in the northeast, have a bad reputation when it comes to religious affiliation. Given their history of cruelly being used to convert indigenous people to speaking English and practicing christianity, this comes as no surprise. This reputation is broken however, when taking a look at cases of schools like St marks, which strive to open their students to as much religion as possible. In cases like our school, it is important to note the emphasis that to participate in the religious community is entirely up to personal choice, and that no one is forced to be a part of any denominational community. The chapel services are run in a way to allow any religion time to practice their own form of worship, as well as to emphasize the chapel as a platform to celebrate students and faculty first and foremost. Although episcopal thinkers are often more open to other religions in their own right, this very noticeable departure from a specifically christian atmosphere leads me to say that the label of “episcopal” is a misleading nomer regarding the religious state of our school.
Instead, if forced to give our religious community a label, I would call it a proponent of “perennialism”. Perennialism is the sect of philosophy which believes that there are bits of truth in all other sects of thought, and seeks foremost to teach its followers to think critically and open themselves to all forms of knowledge and philosophy. These ideals are clearly present in the St Marks community as shown in the course selection and the prayer selections for our chapel services. Not only is every student required to study all three of the abrahamic religions, but the religion department also offers courses suited for eastern religious thought, roman religious thought, celtic religious thought, and secular philosophy. Students who are interested in religion find this selection plentiful, filled with a wealth of knowledge to gain. It is hard to feel as though unique religious thinkers are stifled, as our clergy encourage and commend different cultural and religious prayers and traditions being brought into our inter-faith chapel. From a celebratory feast at the end of Ramadan, to a slew of hindu prayers and teachings being used as our readings during chapels, the school is sure to represent and embody the values of a global religious office.
As someone who came to this school as a skeptical, judging atheist, I can say with certainty that my experience at this school has been nothing but positive. I was immensely worried that I would feel indoctrinated into the christian identity of the school, but instead, I was free to make my own judgments and come to my own conclusions about practices, cultures, and ideologies. It was this freedom that eventually led me back to finding my own faith, a journey best taken alone. Though I did have to come to religion on my own, St Mark's school was surely there for every part of my own personal journey to keep pushing me forward, and support me when I was lost. It is this support of universal knowledge and a championing of a variety of religions that separates St Marks from other religious institutions, and sets it as a shining example of what an institution such as this should strive to be.