CHRISTIAN
VS.
I
T’S NO SECRET that many Christian school enrollments
have declined over the past several years. Some say this
is due to recent economic downturns. I think the reason
has more to do with priorities. Many parents see Christian
education as a luxury, not a necessity. So when tuition
payments cut into the vacation budget or car budget, they
opt for public education. In other words, many parents are
interested in Christian education; they are not committed to
Christian education.
Most parents would be committed to Christian educa-
tion—if they understood the difference between a Christian
approach to education and a secular approach. The differ-
ence is profound.
What Makes Education Secular?
Public schools are driven by the concerns of secularism.
What’s secularism? Consider this standard definition: “The
view that religious considerations should be excluded from
civil affairs or public education.” 1
A secular approach to education attempts to explain all
of life without God coming up—not in any significant way
at least. Why is that a problem? The real world is religious.
Ultimate reality is not the mind of Charles Darwin. Ultimate
reality is God. What’s more, every human being is made
in the image of God; therefore, every human is a religious
being. All the realities that confront us daily are filled with
religious considerations.
When we understand this, we see that the problem with
public school education is that it does not prepare students
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By Dr. Bryan Smith
for the real world. The real world is religious, but secular
education presents it as though it were not.
Thanksgiving Day
What I just said is controversial. I’m sure some are thinking
that I’m talking this way because I work for BJU Press, a
publisher that produces resources for Christian education.
But consider this example, and you be the judge.
McGraw-Hill is a leading publisher for public schools.
The following is an excerpt from their first-grade social stud-
ies textbook. It’s how they teach Thanksgiving Day.
“A long time ago, Pilgrims came to live in America. Their
lives were very hard. They had trouble growing enough food.
A group of Native Americans helped the Pilgrims. They
showed the Pilgrims how to grow new crops. The Pilgrims
wanted to thank the Native Americans for their help. They
invited the Native Americans for a special meal. This day
became known as Thanksgiving Day.” 2
Anything missing? From this account, a child learns that
the Pilgrims were giving thanks to Native Americans, and
God had no place in the celebration. Why did McGraw-Hill
tell the story in this way? They’re secular, and a secular
approach seeks to strip the learning of religious consider-
ations—even if that means distorting the truth.
World History
This is not an isolated example. Consider how McGraw-Hill
tells the story of world history to seventh graders. Here are
the first two sentences: “Historians rely mostly on written