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Religion

At Baylor, we are committed to providing opportunities for students to live into our founding values of faith, honor, academics, and magnanimitas. To this end, we offer several opportunities for students to explore their own spirituality and learn more about the faith of others.

Chapel

Weekly Chapel is required of all students in grades 6-12, which includes lectures, artistic presentations, and declarations of faith from diverse traditions. In addition to lectures from religious leaders, some chapel talks have been given by an Olympian, a sustainable farmer, authors, non-profit leaders, and entrepreneurs.  Ultimately, the goal of the Baylor chapel program is to offer a weekly message that inspires students to fulfill Baylor's mission to "foster in students the desire and ability to make a positive difference in the world."

Baylor Church 

Baylor Church gathers for Christian worship during the school year every Sunday at 5 p.m. in the Old Chapel. Led by Baylor Chaplain Rev. Matt Farr '03, these nondenominational services are open to everyone, including the families and friends of students and faculty.   Rev. Farr assists students of other religious traditions with the observance of their major religious seasons and festivals.  In addition to services on campus, our chaplain arranges for students to attend services at local houses of worship if they desire.

Education

We consider it the prerogative of parents to indoctrinate their children in their family's faith tradition. It is the school's job to build character and train students in religious literacy, as a requirement of citizenship and as a means of exploring their own spirituality effectively. Our goal is to help every member of the school community deepen their sense of reverence, ethical discernment, and understanding of their own faith traditions and the traditions of others.  Baylor offers courses which seek to strengthen students' religious literacy and respect for others.  The study of ethics, the Bible and other sacred texts, and the history of world religions are available through elective courses.

 

 

Student Groups

The Chapel Advisory Council is a team of students working with the chaplain to plan and lead chapel programs. 

The Religious Roundtable is an interfaith group of Upper School students and faculty who bring together people with diverse religious perspectives to learn from each other and to address religious and spiritual issues. 

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) gathers for Christian fellowship and discipleship every Thursday during community time in the Upper School and every Friday morning during club time in the Middle School. FCA is a student-led club and open to all students, including non-athletes. 

YoungLife is active at Baylor. Many upper school students participate in gatherings off-campus at the Younglife headquarters on MLK Blvd and middle school students gather for WyldLife on Baylor’s campus. Rising seventh and eighth grade students can attend Southwind Camp in Ocklawaha, Fla. each spring.

 

 

Baylor's Chaplain

Rev. Matt Farr '03  has served as Baylor's chaplain since 2024. 

Since 2018, Farr has served as the School Chaplain for The Episcopal School of Knoxville, a coeducational school for children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.  In addition to his role as Chaplain, Farr plans and teaches weekly religion classes for all grade levels at ESK.   He was the Curate for the Southeastern Tennessee Episcopal Ministry in Franklin County, Tenn. from 2017-18 and has served as a chaplain in the U.S. Naval Reserves since 2022.

Following graduation from Baylor, Farr earned a B.A. from Sewanee, The University of the South in 2007.  In 2010 he joined Sewanee’s development office and served in various roles before being named the Associate Director of Annual Giving in 2014.  He went on to earn a Master of Divinity from Sewanee’s School of Theology in 2017 and recently completed the requirements for a Certificate of Graduate Study from Sewanee. 

Contact Rev. Farr

mfarr@baylorschool.org