If you were to endorse religious beliefs or teach students how to practice a particular religion in a public high school in America, that would run afoul of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. But, at Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, Illinois, a world religions class is doing something different: teaching students about the history and impact of religions around the world. And that, is kosher.
The world religions class is the subject of the documentary called "All of the Above," which is showing at the Milwaukee Film Festival this month.
Filmmaker Alison Walsh took the class when she was a senior. She says it was a paradigm shift. As a Christian, "What I found the most striking was learning about my classmates' faiths and classmates' [backgrounds]," she says.
The class even inspired her to eventually become a documentary filmmaker, which allows her to listen to different perspectives on the world.
"When I was starting to make documentaries, I just had always kept thinking about this class," Walsh says. "I wanted to come back, but I wanted to tell the story in the present day and see if we could capture students' experiences live and see their reactions on their faces, the 'aha moments.'"
Producer Lily Qi started on the film as an assistant editor and went through a lot of footage before she started producing the film. She says the teacher of the world religions class, John Camardella, is devoted to interfaith work. As a Harvard scholar with a master's in religion and public life, he has the background to support it.
"He really wanted to bring this kind of education to different schools and work with school administrators to promote this class," Qi says. "So, I think for me, it's really inspiring to see someone who is so passionate about what they're doing and really dedicated to bring education and just really fundamental values to students in the next generation."
"All of the Above" screens Friday April 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Oriental Theatre and Saturday April 18 at 10 a.m. at the Downer Theatre.
