Discipline: Religions

There are five primary purposes of religious studies at George School:

1. To nurture students’ spiritual development
2. To expose students to the essentials of Quaker faith, practice, and community, and to give them an appreciation of the ways in which these are embedded in the culture and everyday life of George School
3. To enhance students’ knowledge about the worlds’ great religious traditions
4. To teach and practice social-emotional, academic, contemplative, and global citizenship skills
5. To provide a space of sanctuary in the midst of the stresses of adolescence

These goals are based on the Quaker beliefs that there is that of God in every person, and that we have something to learn from everyone.

In ninth grade, students take Essentials of a Friends Community and Faith Traditions (an introduction to world religions). In tenth grade, students study Spiritual Practices and Holistic Health, which includes sexuality and drug and alcohol education. In either eleventh or twelfth grade, students take IB Theory of Knowledge, IB World Religions, or three terms of religions electives such as Cosmology, Quakerism, Peace Studies, The Abrahamic Faiths, Wisdom Traditions of Asia, Theory of Knowledge, Sustainability and Spirituality, Feminist Spirituality, Deepening Spiritual Practices, or Religions of the African Diaspora.