Christian school
A Christian school is a religious school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. These schools often include religious education and worship in their curriculum. They may also have a distinct Christian mission or philosophy.
The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some countries, there is a strict separation of church and state, so all religious schools are private; in others, there is an established church whose teachings form an integral part of the state-operated educational system; in yet others, the state subsidizes religious schools of various denominations.
Background
Traditionally, many Christian denominations have seen providing catechesis as a necessary part of the educational formation of children; the Emmanuel Association of Churches, a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement teaches, for example:To this end, Christian Churches have established schools around the world.
North America
United States
In the United States, religion is generally not taught by state-funded educational systems, though schools must allow students wanting to study religion to do so as an extracurricular activity, as they would with any other such activity.Over 4 million students, about 1 child in 12, attend religious schools, most of them Christian.
There is great variety in the educational and religious philosophies of these schools, as might be expected from the large number of religious denominations in the United States.
Catholic
The largest system of Christian education in the United States is operated by the Catholic Church., there were 6,841 elementary and secondary schools enrolling about 2.2 million students. Most are administered by individual dioceses and parishes.Baptist
The Southern Baptist Convention has various affiliated primary and secondary schools, gathered in the Southern Baptist Association of Christian Schools.Lutheran
The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod operates the largest Protestant school system in the United States., the LCMS operated 1,127 early childhood centers and preschools, 778 elementary schools, and 87 high schools. These schools educated more than 200,000 students and are taught by 21,000 teachers. Lutheran schools operated by the LCMS also exist in Hong Kong and mainland China. The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod currently operates 403 early childhood centers, 313 elementary schools, and 25 high schools as of 2018.Episcopal
The Episcopal Church in the United States of America maintains approximately 1,200 schools, of which about 50 are secondary schools and which educate about 2% of all students in private schools or 0.22% of the school population in the United States. Although there are relatively few Episcopal schools, many, such as the Groton School in Massachusetts and St Paul's in New Hampshire, and have played a significant role in the development of the American prep school. Episcopal schools are far more likely to be independent, with little outside control, than their Roman Catholic counterparts. Many Episcopal high schools have an annual tuition well in excess of $15,000, slightly higher the average for non-sectarian private schools and far higher than the average for non-Roman Catholic religious schools and over twice the average for Roman Catholic high schools.Methodist
and Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection operate parochial schools and colleges throughout the United States.Conservative Evangelical
Many conservative Evangelicals in the United States reserve the term "Christian school" for schools affiliated with conservative Evangelical denominations, often excluding Catholic schools in particular.These conservative Evangelical schools are privately run, often in conjunction with a church or a denomination. Parents who want their children taught according to the principles of their church, can choose to send their children to such schools, but unless the school is subsidized by their church, or is part of a school choice or education voucher program funded by the government, they must pay tuition. Some American Evangelical schools are large and well-funded, while others are small and rely on volunteers from the community.
Some Evangelical schools, especially those sponsored by fundamentalist groups, do not accept government funding and subsidies because they would put their school operations under more government scrutiny and legislation, which can lead to the government dictating their school's operation. An example of this would be a requirement to adhere to a state's civil rights law, in exchange for the subsidy, this would conflict with a Christian school that has mandatory religious requirements for admission, or does not allow its students to opt out of attending religious services. Even though a school may accept no government money, it still must adhere to the state education curriculum, student academic performance standards, and state-mandated standardized testing scores. It is also subject to standard inspection by government regulators for in-classroom teaching quality and teacher qualifications, possibly including visiting classes. Not accepting government money avoids government management of an Evangelical school, but does not remove governmental oversight.
Another large association of Evangelical schools is the Association of Christian Schools International. ACSI serves 5,300 member schools in approximately 100 countries with an enrollment of nearly 1.2 million students. The American Association of Christian Schools, founded in 1972, brings together many conservative Evangelical schools. Members subscribe to a Statement of Faith based on Biblical literalism, creationism, and a rejection of ecumenism. AACS member schools enroll over 100,000 students. The AACS has an active lobbying program in Washington.
Another association of Evangelical schools is Christian Schools International, with approximately 500 schools and 100,000 students.
One movement among Evangelical schools in the U.S. is the return to the traditional subjects and form of education known as classical education. This growing movement is known as the Classical Christian School movement, represented by the Association of Classical & Christian Schools, with over 230 schools and colleges, and about 34,000 students.
Adventist
According to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the largest Protestant school system in the world is the Seventh-day Adventist educational system. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a total of 6,709 educational institutions operating in over 100 countries around the world with over 1.2 million students worldwide. The North American Division Office of Education oversees 1,049 schools with 65,000 students in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda.Mennonites
, Old Order Mennonites, and Amish groups all operate their own private schools and have published their own curriculum since the early 1960s.Other
The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also operate parochial private schools throughout the United States.Canada
In Canada, public funding of religious education is permitted and sometimes required. Many Christian schools in Canada are non-denominational, meaning they are not affiliated with a specific branch of Christianity. Other schools are denominational; they are affiliated with a particular branch. For instance, they might be Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, or follow some other denomination. Among these, Catholic schools receive the most funding from the government; many of them receive funding for both the secular and religious component of their curriculum.Historically, Christian schools in Canada were run by private Catholic or Protestant organizations. As public education developed, the majority faith became represented by the public school, and the minority faith became represented by a separate school. Over time, the public schools became increasingly secularized as Canadian society became increasingly pluralistic.
Most provinces originally had separate school boards in each school district for Catholic and non-Catholic students. Many provinces have abolished this, but Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories retain the system. Where this occurs, the two schools are usually called the Catholic School Board and the Public School Board.
Many non-Catholic Christians send their children to separate Catholic schools, preferring their values and standards, despite not practicing the Catholic faith. Typically, such students are exempt from specific religious instruction classes.
The American model is also used on some private schools, usually run by Protestant denominations.
Public school boards in Canada normally have no religious affiliation in modern times but may still accommodate religious instruction for Christians within their community. They may do this by creating an individual special purpose Christian school, or they may offer religious instruction within an otherwise secular school. This practice has become so prevalent in Alberta that many private Christian schools have been absorbed by their local public districts as "alternative Christian programs" within the public system. They are presently permitted to retain their philosophy, curriculum, and staffing while operating as fully funded public schools. In this regard, they have achieved some equality with Catholic schools.
These private schools can be associated with a number of different organizations. Some are affiliated with the Association of Christian Schools International, some with Christian Schools International, and some with other organizations. There are also provincial organizations like the Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools a d the Prairie Association of Christian Schools.