Upon This Rock By Jeremiah Sullivan Analysis

In his essay, “Upon This Rock,” John Jeremiah Sullivan details his journey as he explores the biggest Christian-rock festival in Pennsylvania-Creation- and encounters Christians whom he centers his attention on for the duration of the festival. Darius, Jake, Josh, Bub, Ritter, and Pee Wee, the six Christian youth Sullivan meets, explain to Sullivan the situations that prompted them to follow a religious path. The boys explain that “half of their childhood friends had been murdered- shot or stabbed over drugs or nothing”; (Sullivan 21) in turn, they found Christianity as a means for “God [to take] all that anger and stuff […] away” (Sullivan 21). Eventually, Sullivan reveals that he was once a born-again Christian, an Evangelist; however, he

Per Regnerus et al, professors who hold reputable positions at accredited teaching institutions, studies “display strong evidence that public schools now lag behind Catholic schools in the average educational achievement of their students, most poignantly in cities and low-income neighborhoods” (16). Although this study pertained mostly to a specific type of school- Catholic school- similar results can be achieved by requiring a child to take at least one religion-specific class. Similarly, another study expressed the impact of religion on academic achievement: “Individuals with no religious affiliation reported the fewest years of education and were also likely to have the least religious socialization. Not being affiliated with a church resulted in a detrimental impact on educational achievement” (Brown & Gary 422). Without some form of religious impact on an individual’s life, one experienced low academic achievement. Religion should being an integral of public education and should be a requirement of all students; however, an array of different religious courses should be offered so that one is not forced to learn something they have no interest