Being located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, you wouldn’t think Carroll high school would be a very religiously diverse community. However, Carroll has a much more diverse religious population than most people would assume. Although the Carroll community is mostly made up of different denominations of Christianity, there are a wide variety of religions represented within the school.

Despite Carroll being a much more welcoming and accepting community than most would expect, many students of these varying religions have encountered stereotypes and misconceptions in regards to their religions.

Layan Yunis says that “the media does a great job portraying Islam as being really backward and radical, which is mostly as result of the war on terror” and because of this, many people have prejudiced opinions on her religion. In light of recent events involving ISIS and other radical Islamic groups, many people have a very skewed conception of what Islam is really like for those who aren’t involved in these groups.

Another smaller community that’s represented within Carroll is Buddhism, though there seems to be a gray area as to whether or not it’s actually a religion. Most people outside of Buddhism believe it to be a religion, and this is how it is most commonly defined; yet, those who identify with Buddhism tend to view it otherwise. Kiri Kobelja, a senior who identifies as Buddhist, says that it isn’t even a religion so much as “an outlook on life, and a lifestyle.”

Carroll also has a small Mormon community represented, and it is common for Mormons to be misconceived as polygamists. Many people also believe it to be separate from Christianity, although senior Emily Larson  says they still believe in God and Jesus Christ as other denominations do.

“Any Mormon you ask would say they do not agree with the practice of polygamy and it most certainly isn’t practiced today,” said Emily Larson.  

One of the more common religions present in the Carroll community is Judaism. However, Jewish people in the school still face misconceptions on a regular basis.

Senior Rebecka Roberts  said have even asked if she’s “afraid that since I don’t accept Jesus Christ as my lord and savior that I will go to hell.” Rebecka has learned, though, that these comments come from ignorance, and has taught herself to ignore them.

Being aware of these misconceptions has helped many of these people to become more comfortable in their religion, and although misconceptions and comments are present, Carroll is still a very welcoming and accepting community for all of its students regardless of religion.