Dallas Ducar ’10
THE ROUNDUP
Brophy prides itself on being the only Jesuit high school in Arizona since 1928 and on providing the impetus for spiritual growth in accordance with Jesuit ideals.

In a survey by The Roundup, in conjunction with Mr. Tim Sanford’s statistics class, 21 percent of the 70 seniors asked said their religious beliefs had changed from freshman to senior year.

Meanwhile, when 70 freshmen were asked the same question in March, 14 percent stated that their religious beliefs had already changed.

This same study also measured the faith of both classes by not just gauging whether their faith had grown weaker or stronger, but if they had began to believe in a god or disregard the existence of a higher power completely.

Out of the same percentage of seniors, 11 percent stated that they had lost faith while 10 percent explained how they had gained faith during their four years at Brophy.

Additionally, eight percent of freshmen reported they had gained faith over their first year at Brophy while five percent had lost faith.
Out of those who responded, a majority  declared themselves as Catholics. This was followed in order by non-denominational Christians, Atheists and Agnostics.

Other religions polled includes Lutherans, Deists, Hindus, Universalists, Episcopalians, Jews, Sikhs, Presbyterians, Muslims, Baptists and Buddhists.

Another 10 percent of the seniors polled marked themselves as “spiritual” while no member of the freshman class considered himself solely spiritual.

“Synthesis teachers find a lot of students that find themselves to be spiritual but skeptical as well when dealing with religion,” said Mr. Jimmy Tricco, head of the religious department. “They (the students) don’t want to be tied down to form, doctrines, creeds because, to them, it feels like it is infringing on their freedom.”

On average, both the freshman and senior class believed that around 24 percent of Brophy students will have changed their beliefs from freshman to senior year. This perception was not far off from the recorded 21 percent of the senior class that actually did change their religious belief.

“Our mission as a whole is to bring students closer to God, it is rooted in Jesuit tradition,” Mr. Tricco said. “We must strive to find God in other people. That is what religion does for us, it allows us to experience with others.”