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This article was written by Christina Ferrari, a sophomore Creative Writing Major at DePaul University. She serves as an Interfaith Scholar and is an active member of  Catholic Campus Ministry.

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I admit, I am a Gleek. (Alright, maybe I wasn’t quite as dramatic or annoying in high school and fortunately I never suffered the humiliation of being “slushied”) but like the members of New Directions, I loved performing and found a deep appreciation for the profound power of music.

For those of you who aren’t as acquainted with the show as I am, let me briefly explain.  Glee is a TV show that follows a high school glee club, New Directions, and every week they sing and dance to various musical theater ballads, pop songs, and other musical sensations. But the show is about more than awkward teenagers belting their little hearts out, it also deals with teen issues of sexual orientation, teen pregnancy, the desire to fit in, and many other pressures from parents, teachers, and peers.

Glee takes risks with their songs, content, and issues surrounding their episodes. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.  But then, sometimes, a beautiful thing happens: the writers of Glee find a way to bring a larger, uniting message to their audience.

And that is exactly what they did in Episode 25: “Grilled Cheesus.” This episode made me smile, just due to the diverse interfaith, spiritual and philosophical backgrounds represented.

In this episode, Finn (the jock tenor of the group) sees an image of Christ imprinted on his sandwich and begins to pray to it. (See, I told you…”cheesy”, but don’t worry, it gets better.) Through the tragedy of Kurt’s father suffering a heart attack and coma, we learn about the cast members’ spiritual sides. Some singers, like Rachel and Puck, are Jewish. Quinn and Mercedes, for example, are devout Christians. And others still, Kurt and even the uptight cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, consider themselves atheists.

Members of the group join together in prayer and Mr. Schuester encourages the kids to express their feelings through song. The episode does a nice job of representing where people are on their spiritual journey. Some struggle with personal grudges against God. Others cling to their faith to help them in life’s hardest times. Regardless of where they are or what they believe, through their musical performances, we feel for them. Music, in my opinion, can be a form of prayer. And several performances in this episode (like Mercedes’ rendition of “I Look to You”) captured that sacred power.

Another thing I appreciated about this episode was that it went where few TV shows dare to go; it delved into the whole “does God exist” question. Risky business, butGlee’s approach was non-judgmental and we saw the hurt in characters like Kurt and Sue who denied the existence of a higher being.

The most moving moment for me, was when Kurt is at his father’s bedside and says, his eyes full of tears, “I don’t believe in God, Dad. But I believe in you. And I believe in us. You and me — that’s what’s sacred to me.”

In the end, the episode doesn’t give us an answer as to what side we should take. And that makes it all the more real. Life is full of different options, different answers for different people.

I think the message to take away from an episode like this is that there are many perspectives in the world and personal experience heavily influences our philosophies and beliefs. Also, our beliefs will undoubtedly be tested throughout our lives. That’s why it is so incredibly important to reflect and look inside our hearts as well as to learn about what our friends and family believe.

In my opinion, Mercedes says it best. Whether you believe in your family, friends, or a higher power, “you have to believe in something else, something other than yourself.”