At first glance, religious belief doesn’t play a large role on campus. Known for the lack of religious affiliation that sharply contrasts with most local private schools, SCDS’s secular exterior gives way to a soft, devout interior in many students.

Forty percent of students polled said they were affiliated with a religious organization; the level of belief ranges from just identifying culturally with a religion to having every aspect of life driven by religious beliefs.

Senior Brian Crush attends services most Sundays but said he is “really not sure” about the existence of God.

His parents are both active in their church: his father used to be on the parish council.

But for Crush, church is more a source of social opportunities than spiritual guidance.

“A lot of my best friends are from my church,” Crush said. “When I go, I’m the altar boy; a lot of my friends are, too.”

However, he said he hasn’t read the Bible in several years.

“We’re not really a Bible-reading family,” he said.

Junior Matt Einhorn has a similar level of belief. Einhorn identifies as Jewish, but does not adhere strongly to Jewish doctrine.

“I’m casual about it,” he said. “I believe in being Jewish, but I don’t go to synagogue except on holidays.”

However, unusually for a Jew at Country Day, Einhorn keeps kosher, the Jewish dietary law that bans consumption of, among other things, pork, shellfish, and meat and dairy in the same meal. He said he was inspired by an acquaintance in middle school.

“He was the funniest person I ever met. He was kosher, and I thought, ‘why not me?’ ”

Einhorn said his parents accepted his decision easily.

“It just meant they had to buy less cheese,” he said.

Einhorn believes in God, but said his faith is not a big deal to him and that he hasn’t read the Torah since his bar mitzvah.

Junior Mayuri Sadhasivan, a Hindu, goes to services only once every few months, but has a “gods’ room” in her house where she worships the multiple Hindu gods, including Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesh and Agni.

“Just think Greek mythology, and make everyone brown,” she said.

Sadhasivan said that her religious activity is mostly limited to religious holidays, although she does pray daily.

“I pray before tests, I pray after tests, I pray when I get my grades and I pray when I get up in the morning,” she said.

Sadhisivan also said she wouldn’t marry a non-Hindu because her parents wouldn’t approve.
“It’s an Indian people thing,” she said. “You stay within your culture. Our religion and culture and the way we live are different.”

Sophomore Gerardo Vergara, a practicing Catholic, attends the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on T Street, a primarily Latino church.

“(Being Catholic) is kind of a tradition,” he said. “Most Hispanic people are. I do accept it.”

Vergara was baptized and confirmed, attends church every Sunday, and confesses regularly. He said that his parents have encouraged him to explore his beliefs.

“They always encouraged me to ask questions about my faith—questions about life, religion, why the world is the way it is,” Vergara said.

His Catholicism also shapes Vergara’s political and social beliefs: he stands with the Pope in opposing birth control, abortion and gay marriage.

“(Gay marriage) is a difficult topic to say,” he said. “I’m not saying they shouldn’t have rights, but there’s something in the whole homosexuality thing that seems unnatural.”

Vergara doubts he would marry a non-Catholic.

“To marry someone of a different religion would be like marrying someone from a different world,” he said. “The world I’ve been living in is Catholic.”

Junior Adam Pinson, a member of the nondenominational Epiclesis Church, said he finds meaning and purpose in Christian theology. Central to his faith is reaching out to non-Christians to share his belief in Jesus Christ.

“It’s following what God and the Bible tell us to do and reaching out to people for Christ,” he said.

Pinson, who attends church services every Sunday and Bible study each Monday, said his faith has grown over the course of his life.

“When you’re younger, you know what Christianity’s about based on the stories, but you don’t really understand the meaning,” he said. “When you get older, you start applying it to your life.”

A speaker at a Christian summer camp in middle school helped catalyze Pinson’s faith.

“(He) made me realize that I had been living as someone who called myself a Christian. After that, I said, ‘I need to start applying this.’ ”

As one way to apply his faith, Pinson participated in a mission trip to Mexico last June. He spent two weeks removing and replacing the roof of the Rancho Santa Marta orphanage and school.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “It opened my eyes to how lucky we are as Americans.”

Pinson considered attending Jesuit High School, but chose Country Day based on its academics.

“I wanted to go here because the options there were just too limited to help me achieve what I wanted academically,” he said.

Pinson said he has no problem with attending a school where he is in the minority, because he considers it preparation for the real world.

“I don’t think it’s weird, because it’s a fairly accurate survey of American faith,” he said. “There are inherent risks (in attending a religious school) because the real world isn’t all people who believe what you believe.”

Pinson also said that a secular school is more advantageous for sharing his faith.

“Going to school with people of your own faith is boxing yourself in—it’s harder to reach people for Christ,” he said.

However, Pinson said he is careful about discussing his beliefs.

“It’s not often, and I’m probably not reaching out to other people as often as I should,” he said. “God tells me when it’s time to bring that up and what words to say.”

Although it saddens him, Pinson accepts that he won’t always be able to influence people.

“There are certainly people who don’t agree or don’t share your faith,” he said. “It’s disappointing and unfortunate, because in my faith if you don’t believe, you’re going to hell.”

Like Vergara, Pinson said similar religious beliefs are very important in a potential spouse, and it wouldn’t be enough for her to identify as “Christian.”

“Just calling yourself a believer doesn’t mean you’re living a life in Christ,” he said. “It’s more important that they’re saved.”

Sophomore Tyler Burger identifies as a non-denominational Christian. He has attended Bayside Church in Granite Bay for the past year, “pretty much every week.”

Burger attributed his faith to his religious upbringing as well as his own exploration of what the Bible says.

“There’s historical proof that what the Bible said happened,” he said. “There’s evidence that historians have found proving what the Bible says.”

Pinson summed up the school religious community’s basic attitude.

“I can’t say I’ve never questioned my faith,” he said. “But it’s the only thing that explains the universe.”