Christian schooling and higher education

Ross Woods, 2018

In this paper, I consider the various meanings of Christian schooling and education and ask to what extent does Christian schooling and higher education include people from outside the church. To what extent does Christian schooling and higher education include the study of subjects that are not strictly theological or biblical? At what point is a school actually secular even though it is owned by a church?

This study was based on a random sample of church-related schools, as well as visits and observations to others.

I present the view that Christian schooling and Christian higher education include a wide range of different kinds of schools and philosophies of education. Consequently, a higher education program in Christian schooling and education must be broadly inclusive and in most cases must have a secular aspect.

Christian schools vary in ownership. A Christian school might be owned by a church denomination, an independent body that reflects the views of one denomination, an interdenominational body that is independent of denominational control, an interdenominational body that is run by a consortium of churches or parachurch agencies, or, in some countries, a state church.

The sample of school websites included some church-owned schools that present themselves as completely secular, and, for the purposes of this study, could not be called Christian schools. They were characterized by high fees, strong academic reputations, and a wealthy clientele.

Christian and open

The most common kind of Christian K-12 school accepts students from the general public, often with a condition that parents agree that the school operates by Christian principles. School is seen both as evangelism to children of non-Christian but sympathetic families, and as a ministry to Christian families.

Their Christian stance was most apparent in the desire to maintain a Christian ethos in the school and their promotion of Christian ethical standards. They generally hire teachers from their own or kindred churches or those who agree to work within its ethos. They base their standards of behavior and ethics on Christian teachings, and normally have strong religious education programs. In fact, the Christian ethos would be a good definer of a Christian school except that it is not easy to measure.

These schools are not Christian bubbles that are impervious to non-Christian influences. They are generally bound to government policy, at least for licensing. In some countries, they teach a mandatory secular curriculum and prepare students for government examinations. Even schools that try to Christianize their curricula must teach secular subjects such as literacy, mathematics, economics, and science. In some of them, they cannot easily inject a specifically Christian viewpoint.

These schools also have other secularizing influences. Students from outside the Christian community bring their views to the classroom and the schoolyard, and their parents can put pressure on the administration. Even some students from the Christian community are not supportive of the school’s Christian stance. Moreover, schools still have to pay their bills. When a school is run as much by the accountants as by the educators, the Christian ethos can play a back seat to the school’s financial health.

The Christian enclave

Schools in this category accept only students from within their denominational or doctrinal group. At least one of the students’ parents must be a church member and agree with the school’s doctrinal views. Schooling is seen as Christian nurture to children of Christian families. In one case, school was free of fees to regular church members who regularly donated to the church. These schools seem to be small in number.

Christian higher education

Like K-12 schools, Christian higher education also contains a variety of different views, often in close parallel to the pressures of K-12 schools.

Some institutions of higher education, founded originally for religious purposes, eventually became quite secular, even if they still had schools of theology. In the United States before the twentieth century, training for Christian ministry usually comprised a liberal arts degree followed by an apprenticeship to a pastor. This was the basis for the liberal arts degrees in many older US universities, many of which were founded by Christians (e.g. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Duke, Dartmouth). In England, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge were also originally founded to train church ministers.

The modern US Bible colleges and theological seminaries are specifically religious and Christian. They accept only staff and students from within their denominational or doctrinal group, and all evangelical colleges require all staff and applicants at least to agree with their doctrinal views. They offer higher education training in ministry, often leading to a Bachelor of Arts (with a Christian identifier in the postnominal), the Master of Divinity, and the Doctor of Ministry degrees. The alternative emphasis is academic training in theology that leads, for example, to the Bachelor of Theology, Master of Theology or Doctor of Philosophy or of Theology.

Even then, however, programs cannot always avoid a secular aspect. The Bachelor degree in some US jurisdictions must contain a mandatory proportion of general education. This generally comprises secular subjects, although Christian institutions study them from a Christian viewpoint.

In the liberal arts tradition, some strongly Christian colleges have majors in fields other than Christian theology and ministry. For example, Messiah College offers majors in many secular fields, some of which are accounting, actuarial science, applied health science, art education, art history, studio art, athletic training, biochemistry, biology, biopsychology, business administration, chemistry, mechanical engineering, music education, music performance, musical theatre, and preparation for medical studies.

Stated objectives

Governments often evaluate educational programs according to the stated objectives of the incorporated body. Put another way, the inclusion of quite secular aspects of the whole program and its curricula can be part of reaching a set of religious ends.

However, as Michael Scriven pointed out, it is not always easy to discern the objectives by observing activities. In other words, the objectives and actions frequently have an unclear relationship. In extreme cases, they might even have a complete disconnect, for example, when people ignore the express purposes and substitute them with unspoken purposes, or take on a process mentality instead of a mean-ends rationale. Perhaps for this kind of reason, modern accreditors check that actual activities support the stated purposes of the organization.

In the US, stated objectives generally fall into two categories: the statement in the articles of incorporation and the instititution's mission statement. The first, though legally binding, is seldom made public, but the second is usually included in the catalog and on the website. Even if the college is a liberal arts college, it can still have a distinctly religious purpose. For example:

Messiah College: "Our mission is to educate men and women toward maturity of intellect, character and Christian faith in preparation for lives of service, leadership and reconciliation in church and society."*

Wheaton College: "Wheaton College serves Jesus Christ and advances His Kingdom through excellence in liberal arts and graduate programs that educate the whole person to build the church and benefit society worldwide."**

College of the Ozarks Mission: "The mission of College of the Ozarks is to provide the advantages of a Christian education for youth of both sexes, especially those found worthy, but who are without sufficient means to procure such training."
Vision and Goals: "The vision of College of the Ozarks is to develop citizens of Christ-like character who are well-educated, hard-working, and patriotic."***

Conclusion

A higher education program in Christian schooling and education must be broadly inclusive and in most cases cannot legitimately avoid a secular aspect. This has a ramification for the US concept of church-state separation. Whether K-12 or higher education, very few programs can be completely devoid of secular aspects. Almost all programs of Christian schooling and higher education have something other than specifically Christian teaching, and this can be enforceable by law.

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* https://www.messiah.edu/info/20000/about
** https://www.wheaton.edu/about-wheaton/why-wheaton/mission/
*** https://www.cofo.edu/Page/About-C-of-O.14.html