The Granite School District community is highly diverse, with a myriad of national, linguistic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. Granger High School is no exception, being one of the most diverse schools in the district.
With much diversity comes many religions. Utah is most known for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
“I am LDS, I was raised LDS, I grew up believing in this religion and have always known it is true. God has blessed me so much; he watches over me and my family and reminds me every day he is with me,” Naanise Vaea (9) said.
“My favorite verse is D&C 6:36 “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.” And to me, that just means whatever you doubt, don’t fear it,” she said.
Near Granger High School, there is a seminary for The Church of LDS. However, aside from the Church of LDS, there are many other religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc. Catholicism is a very popular and well-known denomination of Christianity. “I was raised Catholic and I am still Catholic, I have always believed it since I was young,” Anthony Cruz (10) said.
“My grandma and mom have taken me to church, and still to this day, I go every week on Sunday. He has helped me a lot to be myself and not be ashamed of who I am or what I believe. I love receiving the Eucharist every Sunday and learning everything they teach there. I don’t share my faith a lot, but I’d feel accepted here at Granger if I did talk about it,” Cruz said.
Cruz is one of many Catholic students at Granger High. Gennivy Bonilla (10) is another.
“I’m Catholic, I was raised Catholic. Lately, I have been going to a Christian church, but I believe as long as I am following Christ, I know he accepts and loves me. For me, it was something I went through besides being raised believing in God. I have had a few family members pass, and in that time, God helped a lot to stay strong and keep going even when it was hard to,” Bonilla said.
Bonilla continued, “It sucks losing anyone, especially a family member, but I have faith that God is with me and with them as well. At Granger, sometimes I read my bible in class, and I do feel accepted because I never have an issue with any of the teachers or any students. My friends and I do bible study every Friday, so we grow in Christ together.”
Ramadan starts on February 28 and ends on March 29. During this time, Muslims are in a holy period of great fasting and worship. Around Granger, it is very important to allow students to exercise their faith freely, and the students here, no matter their religion, feel accepted.
“I am a Muslim, and being at Granger, I do feel accepted, and I do not feel judged. I would feel comfortable sharing my faith. I have friends of other beliefs, and I think that it is fine; there is nothing wrong with that. I think everyone should respect everyone,” Manal Ahmed (9) said. “My favorite verse from the Quran is ‘Indeed with hardship comes ease.” One thing I would like to add is that Ramadan is coming up. Ramadan Mubarak.”
With Granger’s diversity, the students being accepted is very important. Although many religions weren’t mentioned in this article, Granger has great diversity, and with diversity comes many different beliefs. Remember to stay respectful to all religions here at Granger.
