Is home-schooling religously based?

Question

I have been reading a lot of the questions and answers regarding home schooling and many of them revolve heavily around the Christian religion.

I am wondering if the majority of parents who home school are devout in their religious beliefs and that is why they chose to home school.

Answer 1

my teachings aren't. My mother and I feel that religion should not interfere with school work and that you shouldn't homeschool your child so they can learn more religion. Knowing God is great but if you're a parent and don't know how to homeschool or didn't even go to college don't homeschool.

Answer 2

Well, although I am a Christian and grew up in a Christian home, one of the main reasons my mom and dad decided to home school me was because they didn't want me to be subjected to all the c**p thats out there. lol And just for the record, I do know what all that stuff is. Its not like they sheltered me from the world or anything. But, to directly answer your question, I think its probably half and half. Hope this helps =)

Answer 3

I am homeschooled for medical reasons...

but I am a christian lol.

Answer 4

No there are some parents that home school for religious reasons but not everyone. I home school my 2 children and I had one that graduated an online charter school that now goes to the University of Dayton with scholarships. So it really can work !

http://homeschoolanswers.blogspot.com

feel free to share your ideas as well

Answer 5

I'm homeschooled and I am certainly not a Christian.A lot of people homeschool for many different reasons, there are those who homeschool for religious reasons and there are curriculums that are religiously based, but not everyone who homeschools does so for religious purposes.

Answer 6

no it varies most parents have dif reasons for choosing home schooling religon is just one of them

Answer 7

I'm a Christian, and I homeschool,  but that played zero part in my decision.

I think the fact (or the assumption) that most homeschoolers are doing it for religious reasons sort of turns people off to what could be a great choice for their kids.

Answer 8

I homeschooled because my son was bright and was bullied most of his public school life. If I had it to do over, I would have homeschooled both of them most of their school lives. I don't like our public education system and I think it really fails children.

Answer 9

My homeschooling program is not based on religion.  In fact, it's focused more on music.  About 90% of it is music.

Also, my program is more my choice than my parents.  I picked what books to use.  I also bought them myself.  I got a temp. job for two weeks and paied for all of my books and supplies.

Answer 10

Well maybe not fully devout but most home schoolers are religious.

Answer 11

We homeschool, and are not religious. it seems like "secular homeschoolers" are in the minority.

We homeschooled, originally, because the schools in our area were horrible. (www.greatschools.net gave them an overall score of 1 or 2, so I figured I could at least do that.) [kidding].

Now, my oldest is in 4th, and my little one is in 1st. My little one has special needs, that I feel are better handled with a lot of one on one attention.

A lot of parents homeschool for that reason.

Others homeschool because they love to.

I think it is great, because if your child is ahead, you can move them along... that helps with boredom. If your little one is behind, you can slow it down, and keep explaining it until they "get it"...

I think everyone has a different reason. As long as they are actually teaching, I think it is great. :)

Answer 12

I was home-schooled from kindergarten through end of middle school. As were my three other siblings. Although my parents are Christians their decision to home school their children was not based on religious preference but academics. With four children my parents were unable to afford a private school and felt that the public school we were zoned for was inadequate. Our homeschooling followed a more montessori approach. My brother was interested in aviation. So for math he did aerodynamics.

Answer 13

Here's some sound reasoning for you:

P1: Most people are Christians.

P2: All homeschoolers are people.

P3: Most homeschoolers are Christians.

Good old transitive property. If a=b and b=c. then a=c.

I know one family who's homeschooling for religious reasons, and I know of two more who are homeschooling for religious reasons. For most of the rest, it's been a nice benefit but not a dealbreaker.

I'm an atheist and my family is non-religious. Same for my boyfriend, two closest homeschooled friends, and a couple other kids I don't really know.

Or, in short terms, how long is a piece of string?

Answer 14

I don't know the statistics, but it's probable that most homeschoolers are Christian, simply because that's the majority religion. That doesn't mean that religion was the only reason they chose to homeschool. There are plenty of Christians in public schools after all!

I'm intending to homeschool my daughter and have been putting in a lot of research. There's a long list of reasons why I think it'll be the best choice for us and though I'm not Christian, religion will be an important ongoing study for us. You practise whatever path you practise, but I think everyone needs to understand other's beliefs too.

My reasons:

*More involvement in family life instead of fragmenting it with everyone going in opposite directions.

*We can study what we think is important.

*We can learn subject methods and matter, whereas a lot of public schooling is learning to pass the exam, not learning the actual subject.

*Public schooling generally doesn't follow subjects chronologically. For example, teaching Ancient Egypt, then Rome, completely skipping the Greeks.

*There's so much double up. The kids do volcanos in Science, then in Geography.

*You have the ability to plan long term, so you can develop on each stage. No mucking around while the teacher figures out if everyone did actually study algebra last year.

*My kids won't be limited to crappy after school jobs, but will have the option of taking a "proper" job during working hours, then studying around that. How much does a check out job count for on your resume anyway?

*It won't matter where we are. If we decide to go and live in rural Australia to take advantage of high wages (yay pay off the mortage!) their studies won't be disrupted.

*They'll have time to participate in the real world, since they won't be locked up in school. It's a hard transition from school to adulthood. If they don't see adults living their lives, paying bills, doing housework, etc, how are they to know how to be an adult? Small children learn by copying us "big people." They can do that because they actually have contact with us. This contact is reduced so very much when they go to school. Then they model themselves on their peers.

*I don't want my children in a situation where learning is considered boring or dumb, and where Paris Hiltons are to be idolised. Obviously I can't control everything, and I'm not supposed to; however I'd like my children's social interactions to be a bit more wholesome. The less bullying or being bullied the better. Then when it comes to learning about the opposite gender, well, I'd rather they learn to be friends first and understand how each other works. None of this going out with someone just for the status of having a boy/girlfriend. I'd like my children to know that kisses are supposed to mean something!

Long list :)

Answer 15

I am a Christian, but I had about 10 reasons to homeschool BEFORE I even considered my religion.

I'm surprised you found that here.........I know most of the responders, and I rarely see them answer based on religion alone

Answer 16

I believe the majority of homeschoolers are Christian and I know many people who homeschool because of their religious beliefs.  There are also a lot of homeschool resources and curricula that cater to Christian homeschoolers.

So in short, yes, you are right.

Answer 17

Religion is not necessarily a factor in choosing to homeschool. I made the decision to do so after much research because my children were not performing well in public school, even though they were "gifted" students. My requests for promotion to another grade were disregarded. They needed additional academic challenges, and received none. I took action when my son received his first "F".

While I incorporate spiritual matters into the coursework, that is not the complete basis for our homeschool.

A friend of mine enrolled her son in a homeschool program because of his health. He had missed more than half the school year, and she was concerned about his grades being adversely affected.

Religion had nothing to do with her choice.

Hope I helped. God asked you.

Answer 18

There are as many reasons to homeschool as there are homeschoolers.  Some families do include religious freedom in their reasons, others don't.  Some place it very high up on their list, others find it a nice benefit.

The thing about homeschooling is...you can't buttonhole it.  You can't say "this is why people do it".  The only unifying reason for homeschooling is that it is the educational option that works best for that particular child and/or family.  Other than that, the reasons are all over the board.

Answer 19

Homeschooling will reflect the values of the family that is practicing it.

There are a lot of Christians who decide to homeschool because their faith is actively taught against in many public school classrooms, but certainly not every homeschooling family is a Christian family.

I have met Muslim homeschoolers, Jewish homeschoolers, atheist homeschoolers, and pagan homeschoolers.  I met one  "couple" who homeschooled because they didn't want "their" children teased over their homosexual relationship.

I homeschool my children, and yes I am a Christian, but I was not a Christian when I first decided to homeschool.  My Christianity had nothing to do with the initial decision.   However, just because it was not the reason I started, does not mean that my CHristianity does not influence my homeschooling, my relationship with my Lord and Savior influences the way I do everything in my life.

Answer 20

Although I am religious this is not why I homeschool. I do it because I want my children to have the best education there is. They weren't getting it in public school so I chose to do it at home.

Answer 21

There seems to be a higher percentage of highly religious homeschoolers in the US than in Canada. I'm in Canada and have yet to meet a homeschooling family who homeschools for religious purposes, although I know many who profess a religion. I do know that a couple of studies done have shown that religion is NOT the primary reason in the US for choosing homeschooling. However, being religious and feeling a higher responsibility for your children's upbringing (so outlook rather than religion itself) could definitely be a factor in choosing to homeschool. Consider, too, that most people profess some sort of religion.

Answer 22

While I am a Christian, that is not my family's main motivation for HS'ing.  In fact, we have one in HS and one in PS.

We are HS'ing our DS because a B&M school of any time will not meet his asynchronous needs for curriculum (1-5 yrs ahead).

I don't know where you read on this forum that the discussions "revolve heavily around the Christian religion".  I think it rarely comes up - other than discussing different HS'ing curricula.

Where I live, while families are Christian (protestant or Catholic), they all have differing reasons for HS'ing - many b/c they are fed up with the public school system and how it cheats so many kids.

Answer 23

If Parents Have the time and patience and the aptitude Home schooling is a great option. Children also need other kids in their life to grow and learn completely.

Answer 24

Though we are Christian, that is far from the only reason people homeschool.  We are involved in an eclectic homeschool group and everyone is well represented.  Atheists, Wiccans, Christians, Jews, Catholics, Muslims, one Mormon family, and I am sure everything in between.  

Some do it for medical reasons, all for quality issues, and many for other reasons.  The faces of homeschool are as varied as the community from which they are drawn.

Answer 25

This isn't true for every one, though mostly it is. This doesnt mean that all christians are homeschooled. It means MOST homeschoolers are Christians. The reasons for homeschooling may be common for both christians and non christians. Not wanting to have kids in a wordly public school environment (keeping them away from s*x, drugs, and crude language) is a typical reason. Another reason may also be money. Not only would a person not want thier kid in a public school environment, but they may not be able to afford to send thier kids to a religion affiliated school. :)

Answer 26

Hmm, my mum describes herself as 'a *VERY* lapsed Catholic' and my dad believes in the Great Sky Spirit (Baiaime). And for me, it's also got to be Baiaime all the way!

No, not all homeschooling is religiously based nor are all homeschooling parents/families religious.  

Here in Australia, I reckon religious/faith holding homeschoolers are probably pretty much a minority group. I reckon homeschooling's power base is among kids who are growing up out here in the bush.

As for religious homeschoolers, we have Mission Islam (brill resource for Moslem and secular homeschoolers...plug, plug! lol). The one Aussie christian homeschooling group I've come across, when you actually go into it, you find they're actually based in England and are just an offshoot of a UK christian group.

Weird how Americans think religious = christian though.

Answer 27

Hey, great question, and a very common one.  

Short answer:  NO, absolutely not! :o)

Long answer:

Homeschooling is NOT religiously based. People have been homeschooled for thousands of years; since ancient times.  An interesting fact:  every president depicted on Mount Rushmore was homeschooled...  

Public schools as we now know them have only been around for the last 100 or so years.   The reason you hear so much about homeschoolers who are Christian is that they are the more vocal bunch in our community... :o)  I know many non-Christians, pagans, and athiests who also homeschool.

Homeschoolers come from all faith and non-faith backgrounds, political affiliations, family styles, races, and economic levels.  We are as diverse as those in public and private schools; perhaps even more so.  

For the record, less than 30% of homeschoolers in the US indentify themselves as faith-based homeschoolers; the rest of us homeschool for a variety of other reasons.  Homeschooling is simply one educational choice among many for parents and their kids to make, and some make that choice based on their Christian beliefs.

I hope that helps!  Any more homeschooling questions? I'll be happy to help answer them...

Answer 28

Following one's religious beliefs is definitely a top reason to home-school your child.  I pulled my daughter our of 8th grade when she started acting out.  It was one of the best things I did.  That daughter is 22 years old.  I just said to my husband tonight that the biggest regret I have in raising our children is that we put them in public school.

Our daughter just excelled when home schooled.  She took that standard test and went ahead three grades in less than one school year.  She had more choice in her subject matter and how she could learn.  

Too many people just don't think about the negative side of public school.  It is a hostile environment for most kids.  We could do better with more options for schooling, religious or otherwise.

Answer 29

My parents chose to homeschool my brother and I for the exact opposite reason: a lot of kids were harrassing us for being open-minded. I'm not sure about the statistics for devoutly religious homeschoolers, but I have never encountered many of them.