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[quote=Anonymous]It depends a lot on the school. There's no substitute for visiting the classrooms on a typical day to get a sense for a school's culture.

I taught at a Catholic school that had weekly chapel and mass on special occasions. The children attended religion classes for which the diocese dictated the number of hours per week. The days also began and ended with prayers in addition to announcements, Pledge of Allegiance, etc. As a Protestant, I did not find any of the routines and rituals particularly burdensome or conflicting with my beliefs. Someone of a different religion or an atheist might have found the daily religious practices boring. That said, our religious studies faculty were relatively sensitive to the diversity of beliefs at the school. Even among the Catholic families, there was a range of social and political views. Lessons and homilies tended to focus more on community service and leading and ethical life than on doctrinal issues and detailed Bible study.

Outside of day-to-day routines, a school's religious affiliation can come up in other ways. If sex education is a particular concern to you, you may ask the school about the grades in which it is taught and the school's philosophy of teaching. You might be surprised to know that some Catholic schools teach the science of sex and reproduction in separate classes from those where they address the religious and moral aspects of human sexuality. However, I suspect that most Catholic schools devote fewer hours overall to sex ed, and are probably less progressive about LGBTQIA issues. One's Catholic affiliation can also come up as a social issue. It's not that children are particularly unpleasant or exclusive to non-Catholic students. However, the families who know each other from attending the same churches may have an easier time forming friendships.       [/quote]

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