Jesuit High School Sacramento’s World Religions class, taught by Theology Teacher Dr. Mark Luttio, is a great way for students to gain new perspectives on the traditions that surround them. Dr. Luttio’s profound experience with various religions has been an essential part of the class’s ability to strengthen students’ knowledge of the wider world.

Dr. Luttio’s involvement with World Religions can largely be attributed to his diverse upbringing in Japan.

“Studying the religions of the world has always been my passion,” Dr. Luttio said. “Much of that comes from my own life story of being in a very multi-cultural and religious context where I was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan.”

Dr. Luttio’s students learn about a variety of religions, but also about the significance of religious study, and even where religion may be headed in the future.

“We take a trip around the globe,” Dr. Luttio said. “We begin with a cursory understanding of why we study the religions of the world and the significance of it. We begin with Hindinism, then Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto, which [covers] the east. Then we move on to monotheistic religions like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. But we also look at a religion that spans both the east and the west, is monotheistic, and believes in reincarnation, which is Sikhism. And we also look at Bahá’í, which is probably one of the most recent religions that have come on the scene. And we end on a chapter on: ‘What does the future of religion look like?’”

Constantine Flesoras ’24, a student in World Religions last year, believes that the class’s wide-ranging topics serve to unify the Jesuit community.

“I think it’s a great class; you get to know your peers more, [and] you get to know your community more,” Constantine said. “I took it because I wanted to learn more about the religions of our classmates. In order to understand each other, we first need to understand each other’s identities.”

Dr. Luttio utilizes an engaging teaching style that includes hands-on activities and looking beyond the classroom in order to give his students a deeper understanding of the religion they’re studying.  

“I like to give a lot of hands-on experiences if possible,” Dr. Luttio said. “Sometimes the best classrooms aren’t actually in rooms, you have to get out and experience the religion, [much like when] we had the Tibetan monks on campus and I required all of my students to go during community period. They chanted, played their instruments, and we had a great Q&A session afterward. I will bring incense into the classroom, depending on what religion we’re looking at, or different robes to put on.”

James Randall ’24, a student enrolled in the class last year, appreciated the approachability of the class and recommends it to interested students.

“It’s very accessible, you don’t have to test into it or anything,” James said. “It’s really interesting for someone who’s into theology or philosophy, so I would recommend taking it. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much, but it ended up being one of my favorite classes.”

An accessible, eye-opening, and engaging class, World Religions has played a huge part in allowing students to better understand others. As more upcoming seniors enroll in World Religions, the Jesuit brotherhood will grow stronger than ever.