Religion class. To some, it’s just another 55-minute block on a schedule, but for others it’s an environment for them to connect with their spiritual side. Some students find it very hard, others find it to be a breeze. Nevertheless, religion is a class, and a class comes with a grade determined by: homework, participation, classwork, and test scores.

Religion is not something that should be graded based on whether or not you showed up and understood what the teacher said.
JC is a Catholic school. If you were to Google “The John Carroll School,” and read the description from Wikipedia on the right hand side, you’d see that it says, “The John Carroll School, established in 1964, is a private, independent, college-preparatory, co-educational Catholic school for grades 9–12.” If we’re a Catholic school, shouldn’t we take pride in teaching religion?

That means that we shouldn’t make religion classes pass/fail just so the students have an easier time. That’s what we do for gym classes. So, if that was the case, then we might as well change our school description to:“John Carroll is a private, independent, college-preparatory, co-educational school that has gym classes.”
Honestly, I think religion class should be easy for most students, or at least it should be a review. I think it’s safe to say that most kids here went to a Catholic or some other sort of religious school, whether that was St. Margaret’s, St. James, Trinity Lutheran, Mountain Christian School, or another private religiously affiliated school. Some that attended public schools went through CCD and Confirmation, so learning about original sin and the sacraments should be nothing new.

Even for people who have never had any type of previous religious education, religion classes at JC seem to be repetitive. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, but I can’t tell you how many quizzes, tests, and exams I’ve taken where I’ve had to match the definitions of “magisterium” and “dogma.” Junior year has been the first year, so far, where I’ve learned new material. I’ll be honest, before this year, I didn’t know all the sacraments.

When it comes down to it, religion isn’t difficult. If it became a pass/fail class, students would view it as a joke. They wouldn’t try at all because they’d be aware that if they show up for 55 minutes that they’ll get a “P” on their report card. Religion is too important to stick a “pass/fail” tag on it. Some people don’t realize how important religion actually is. Just think about the recent attacks on Paris. Religion promotes morals, and if no one has morals no one will understand why these things happen.

As a Catholic school we need to take pride in our religion. Religion is a requirement for all four years for a reason: it’s important. Students need to be somewhat spiritually trained, and whether or not they care, or take that knowledge with them, religion is still important to have learned. Religion classes are not on the same level as gym classes and therefore they should not be pass/fail classes.

Religion should be the center of a Catholic school. However, religion class should not be the sole academic focus. Students should be able to use religion class as a refuge.

Religion class should not affect GPA or class rank. It should not take time away from core academia, therefore it should be a pass or fail course.
While Catholic education is undoubtedly the backbone of our school’s, and the Archdiocese’s missions as educators, no subsection states the need for religious education through rigorous religion classes.

“At The John Carroll School, guided by the spirit of America’s first Catholic Archbishop and early patriot, we cultivate in each student a love of learning, a respect for self, and a sensitivity to others,” is the beginning of JC’s mission statement. This could be better achieved if class focused more on learning, not drilling monotonous definitions of religious terms.

The love for learning that JC should imbue in its students should stem from the environment of the classroom and school, as a whole. The school should realize that we are a Catholic school because of the welcoming environment and focus on a global perspective that helps to develop students intellectually, socially, and spiritually.

JC can achieve its goal of “instilling Catholic values through a challenging college preparatory program,” by actually preparing students for college and focusing on the academics that will be prevalent throughout their continued education.

About half of the students have had prior religious education, which puts the other half of students at a disadvantage. Additionally, the inconsistent grading practices from teacher to teacher puts students with teachers that have harsher grading practices at a disadvantage.

Ivy league schools use pass/fail classes to allow students to take courses and learn to learn, not for a grade. When these colleges look at a transcript, they will examine the core courses that you’ve taken. With religion as a graded class, JC is falsifying students’ GPAs and causing additional work for admissions personal.
Catholic school should provide religious education through more than just classes. The Catholic focus should be in all academics. Unnecessary competition and emphasis on grades in a religion class is detrimental to the mission of the school.

Forcing students to memorize Catholic vocab and history and not placing emphasis on the values undercuts the mission of the Catholic Church. Religion classes should be pass or fail so students can focus on the foundations for academics and life that are so necessary for the future, not Church history.

The religious curriculum should not only be throughout all academic classes, but also be specifically fostered in a religious class that provides a welcoming discussion environment that enables Catholic views on real-world applications of religion or religious values.

By making religion classes pass fail, teachers have more flexibility in their approaches to imbuing Catholic values, and in the end, you either pass or fail at using Catholic values, so why should our education ignore that?