New York Times Features Religion at Exeter, Students and Faculty React 

“Let’s assume that God knew what God was doing when he gave you life. And that he gave you life as intent [to be] Hindu. So go and find out what that means.”These were the words of current school minister and Exeter alumnus Reverend Robert H. Thompson in a conversation with a student named Vivek in 1987. The student told Thompson that he wanted to be Christian, but his dad was Hindu. As Vivek explained to Thompson that he did not understand what Hinduism was, Thompson advised him to go learn about his dad’s faith, and then if he still wanted to be baptized he would do it. Vivek ended up becoming the founder of the school’s Hindu Society.Religion in prep schools is a commonly discussed topic. There is a general stereotype attributed to boarding schools that most are centered around a specific religion, commonly Protestantism or Catholicism. A recent article in The New York Times by Mark Oppenheimer discussed how religion is becoming more diverse in prep schools, and how with stories like Vivek’s, Exeter is a specific example of this.Religion instructor and Academy Rabbi Jennifer Marx Asch commented on the many religious opportunities that the Academy has to offer. “There are many different religious groups at the Phillips Church which have opportunities to practice their religion as well as intermingle with other religions,” she said. “It is a very open environment, so people can join and participate in other religious practices as guests.”Senior Milton Syed found that the variety of opportunities has helped to educate him on different religious options. “When I come back home [to] where the fixed religion is Muslim, I can explain to people in my community what Judaism is and Christianity,” he said. “Having this exposure to many differ- ent religions in one area is very helpful. It makes you more knowledgeable person.”

“No matter the lingering, and inaccurate, stereotype of New England boarding schools as warrens of Anglo- Saxon, Protestant preppies: A Friday at the Phillips Church is a multicultural adventure.”--Mark Oppenheimer, New York Times

The Academy also provides education on the different religions. Four year students must take at least two religion classes that give helpful insight about the different beliefs around the world. But the purpose of these classes are not to persuade students towards one religion or another.“Religion classes might generate some thinking and conversation but it doesn’t necessarily funnel people one way or another,” Marx Asch explained. “It just allows space to think, process and share.”Although Exeter is evolving on many aspects of religion, there are still issues within the school. Thompson has dealt with multiple religious problems both long ago and recently. One current problem regards students trying out different religions and beliefs. During the process of trying on these different identities, other students can be unkind in their assessment of other ways of thinking. Although these students’ purposes isn’t to attack anyone, some students have been challenged for the very fact of their beliefs, Thompson explained.Syed explained a time at the Academy when he felt misunderstanding towards his religion during a Harkness discussion.“The problem that occurs is that when you mix harkness into certain students, they can stray on being offensive or act like they know everything,” Syed, who is Muslim, explained.“It's important that you question a religion and make your opinions, but you also have to be careful about passing judgements and forming opinions without receiving adequate knowledge about the religion.”Actions such as these can sometimes lead to students being shy about their religion not feeling comfortable openly practicing it at campus, Thompson said. Thompson recounted a time when he was a student at the Academy in the 60s that showed how the Jewish community had limits to how comfortable they were with being identified as Jewish. Their Shabbat dinners at that time were located in the Seabrooke room of Elm Street Dining Hall. The dinners would not be announced, and students would not walk through the rest of the dining hall wearing Yamakas.Many decades ago, a Jewish community which Thompson was a part of invited a speaker to Exeter, but no one would volunteer to introduce the speaker. “I asked who was interested in introducing this person and known of them were willing to be identified on the stage of Assem- bly Hall as Jewish by doing that,” explained Thompson. “Then I knew that there was an issue.”Although issues such as that were once common, Exeter has come a long way from these problems, especially in the Jewish Community. Exeter was the first school to own a Torah, and now has two. Along with the Torah’s there is a permanent arc and house of worships located on the campus. The academy has also hosted several bar mitzvahs and has strong religious leaders such as Rabbi Marx Asch.If a student is still reluctant in openly expressing their religion on campus, Exeter is now great at providing support for them. Thompson would immediately take action to help the student as long as the student is comfortable with him helping.“If I was to hear of someone who was afraid of expressing their faith, I would really want to talk to them and engage with that student to understand what that meant for that student and in that student’s experience,” Thompson explained. “If there were a continuing issue in a particular class than I would be inclined to speak to the teacher, only if the student was comfortable with me taking that route.”Despite some of the problems that still need to be addressed, overall Exeter provides great opportunities for both faculty and students to try out various types of religions and immerse more in their own.“I respect and learn from my colleagues from the different religious traditions and I also think its wonderful to meet students from different parts of the world,” Rabbi said.“There is lots of life and the fact that everybody is open and inviting environment is a very special and unique thing about Exeter.”