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Religious Studies & Philosophy

Tackle the big questions: meaning and purpose, identity and community, ethics and destiny.

At NMH, courses in religious studies and philosophy will guide you on a fulfilling search for answers about who you are and your place in the world. 

We have a long tradition of asking our students to examine their inner lives while exploring the role of religion in history, art, politics, and culture. You’ll explore the historical and traditional roles of the world's religions and the way they’ve influenced one another. You’ll also explore complex ethical and moral dilemmas, as you consider issues of violence, war, and other difficult human behaviors, and study philosophy, from Socrates to the existentialists.

Many of our courses take an interdisciplinary approach, recognizing that human experience cannot be neatly divided into conventional academic departments. A study of Islam is much richer when discussions of politics, culture, and the arts are included. Environmental studies, meanwhile, cut across lines of science, history, and ethics. That's why classes like Global Inequities and Climate Change: 21st-Century Responses and The Islamic Middle East are taught by pairs of teachers, offering a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

NMH is a secular boarding school. We won’t ask you to take on any particular faith or belief, but we do expect you to take responsibility for your own worldview. We’ll help you to articulate that perspective with confidence and to engage respectfully in dialogue with people with differing perspectives, as you seek out truth and the purpose of your potential.