I’m Jewish at a Christian high school, it’s taught me a lot about who I am - opinion

A Jewish student at an Episcopal high school in Florida describes navigating mandatory chapel, religion classes, and a Christian-centered daily life. The experience has been mixed: feelings of alienation and being an outsider alongside opportunities to share Judaism with peers. The school declined a request for a Jewish Student Union, leading students to meet informally off campus.

Ben Kleiman, a Jewish student at Trinity Preparatory School, an Episcopal high school in Winter Park, Florida, describes the experience of navigating her Jewish identity within a Christian institution. Mandatory chapel services, where Christian songs and sermons assume belief, create a sense of alienation. Religion classes like Introduction to the Bible and Christian holidays further reinforce the feeling of being an outsider. However, the experience has also pushed Kleiman to develop a stronger sense of her own Jewish identity and to seek out Jewish community. The school declined a student request to form a Jewish Student Union, citing concerns it could be exclusionary, while the Fellowship of Christian Athletes remains on campus. Jewish students have organized informal off-campus meetings at a local Starbucks. Kleiman concludes that the experience has strengthened, not weakened, her Jewish identity.