Is it possible for a school to be "Jesuit, Catholic and Interfaith?"

That is how Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, a private high school on the Northwestside, defines itself.

Founded by the Jesuits, an order of Catholic men, it accepts students from many religious backgrounds. Of 195 freshmen who will be entering Brebeuf this August, only 57 percent identify themselves as Catholic.

Last spring, Y-Press interviewed a group of non-Catholic seniors to learn about their experiences at Brebeuf. They included Aiza Hussain, Nicole Katz, and Emily Miner, all 18.

Each feels differently about her spirituality.

"Religion is a pretty big part of my life," said Aiza, a Muslim, whose family celebrates all Muslim holidays and fasts during Ramadan.

Nicole and her family go to an Orthodox Jewish synagogue "but I don't practice all the religious Orthodox laws," she said. "I guess I don't really consider myself a part of any of the denominations. I'm at a comfortable medium."

Emily, a Presbyterian, also is reluctant to identify herself by her place of worship.

"I am more a spiritual person than I am a religious person," she said. "I don't believe that the most important thing about believing in God is following the laws of the church."

Brebeuf encourages spirituality through atmosphere and curriculum. For example, freshmen are required to take a world religions course. Despite its religious affiliation, however, Brebeuf faculty make an effort to respect the beliefs of non-Catholic students, a fact Emily appreciates.

"All the prayers that we have at like mass school functions are open to other religions," Emily said. "Brebeuf is more geared towards spirituality rather than teaching you about the Catholic sacraments. . . . For me that's important that it's not a focus, and that I don't have to worry about people assaulting my religion or judging me."

But when they were freshmen, none of these students knew how Brebeuf would welcome them.

"I was a little wary of my religion," Nicole said. "(I asked myself), 'Is it OK to be Jewish here?' "

Nicole had attended the Hebrew Academy, where students spend half of each day learning Hebrew and studying their religion.

Her choice of Brebeuf took some people there by surprise.

"A few of my religious teachers were a little bit shocked because I am very involved in my synagogue, and I was very involved in my youth group then," she said. "I got a lot of comments like, 'You shouldn't do that, you'll lose who you are, you'll lose your faith.' "

Aiza has always attended school with non-Muslims. "I went to a Catholic kindergarten, where I wasn't allowed to be student of the week 'cause I wasn't Catholic." After that, she attended a public school.

Emily came from a secular private school. "I'm fairly certain religion didn't come up in my entire eight or nine years there," she said.

Her experiences at Brebeuf have been significantly different. "I didn't quite know what to do when people would ask me in my religion classes what religion I was," she said. "I was like, 'You can ask me that?' "

But she now sees the value of such discussions. "Learning about different religions freshman year opened my eyes to other possibilities, like 'Hey, everybody isn't Christian.' . . . It just hadn't occurred to me, the range of religions that there are."

Nicole also values her school's diversity; she says even if Indianapolis had a Jewish high school, she would not choose to attend. "My parents and I both agreed that I was very comfortable with my religion, . . . and it was time for me to learn about other people. It helps you understand where different people come from if you know about their religions," she said.

Aiza, however, said: "In some cases it is an advantage to go to a school where everyone's the same religion as you. Some kids need that comfort . . . they're not ready to be tested."

For those who are, Brebeuf attempts to accommodate religious practices. For example, unlike other area schools, Brebeuf cancels classes on Yom Kippur, one of the most important Jewish holidays.

"My friends went out shopping and whatever (on their day off), but it was nice for me to be able to celebrate the holiday and not worry about all the tests and quizzes and whatever I was missing," Nicole said.

Aiza pointed out, however, that Muslim students see room for improvement. "We get this week off for Christmas, . . . and that's just time off for us," she said. "We wish we could have time off when we really needed it, when we want to celebrate our holidays."

Students often find it difficult to forget they attend a Catholic school.

"There's a cross in every classroom," noted Emily. "It's not like you go into any one room and it's completely overwhelming, but it's hard not to notice it."

Despite these reminders, attending Brebeuf actually reinforced Nicole's sense of her Jewish identity. She and a friend formed the Jewish Student Union, of which Nicole served as president her senior year.

"We have a lot of Jewish kids involved, and we have a lot of non-Jewish kids involved, which is awesome," she said.

"I get questioned like every day, 'Why don't you believe in Jesus?' " she continued. "Probably the most difficult part about going to Brebeuf is that you realize how much you don't know about other people, but at the same time you realize how much people don't know about you."

But Nicole recognized the advantage of her situation; "I learned more about my religion by having to explain it to other people," she said.

Aiza agreed. "It's a test every day to prove who you are, and also it's kind of a gift, 'cause you get to share it with so many people," she said. While Aiza believes she has become a representative for Islam at Brebeuf, she was hesitant to attribute her spiritual growth to attending a Catholic school.

"I think that just came with me growing up as a person," she said.

"What I value about Brebeuf is, even though it's a Jesuit school, to me it's more of an interfaith school," Emily said. "I can meet people and interact with people who are different types of Christians, are agnostic, are atheist, and are just plain confused. The thing that I love about it is: It's an open environment where you can discuss that."

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Dominique Hall, 15.

REPORTERS: Katie Bolinger, 11; Katie Ciresi, 12; Britney McTush, 12; Perri McKinley, 12.

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