Is there a link between Creationism and Homeschooling?

Question

I'm seriously wondering about this.

I live in Holland. Homeschooling is forbidden by law here, simply because every child has the right on having the same proper education.

Although I can somehow see some benefits to the American system of having the freedom to keep your kids at home, when I see the debate on this forum about Creationism versus Evolution, it really makes me wonder.

In my country, there is no debate about that subject. I'm 27, and I can't remember Creationism ever having even been a subject. The first time I heard about Creationism, was on this Yahoo!Answers forum.

So, seriously wondering, is there a link between homeschooling and the belief in Creationism? Or is that just me searching for reasons?

Answer 1

It depends which country you're talking about. I was homeschooled (Australia) and I don't believe in Creationism. It was for medical and family reasons, not religion (though I am religious). In Australia, approx 15,000 kids are homeschooled, and one of the reasons for this is isolation - there aren't any schools for 100s of km for some families, so they learn through distance education. However, I would say that the majority of homeschooled kids are in the US. When you consider that 80% of Americans are Christians, of course it's possible that the majority of homeschooled kids are Creationists!

By the way, in response to the first answer: are homeschooled kids really dumber? I have an IQ of 128, which, while isn't particularly high, I'm pretty sure doesn't make me 'less' smart And I was taught to question everything. So I think your intelligence depends on the circumstances and the family environment, and statistics don't take this into account.

Answer 2

There isn't a link between it as far as the actual subject of creationism, no. There is a link between it and the belief in creationism. In America most schools teach about evolution, and other such that Christians don't agree with or believe in. Most Christians choose to home school their children, because they want to teach their kids what they believe without anything undermining that. Their kids get the same education, if not a better one, without all the distraction of conflicting teachings coming from home and school. It makes it easier on the parent, when teaching them about their religion. Which it is the parents right to teach their children any religion they wish, and it is also their right to home school their children, in America. (Quite a few Americans view this as a threat, although I'm not sure why. Generally it stems from their unfounded hate of Christianity and religion in general.)

Answer 3

I think there may be a link. However, a lot of people on here confuse "Intelligent Design" with "Creationism".

Some people believe in "ID" without believing in the biblical interpretation of a young earth created in 6 days. In fact, there are many openly agnostic scientists on the forefront of the ID movement. And the movement is spreading to Europe. Some prominent scientists there are also advancing ID theory.

So yes, I think there is a link. But I think that we are seeing the slow wane of evolution being an open and shut case, and sometime in the not so distant future we'll see ID (not creationism) enter into public school curriculum.

Answer 4

I would say absolutely it is one of the major causes of homeschooling. As a Christian I believe in creationism and don't think it is right that the Evolution theory is taught in schools and Creationism can't even be taught as a theory. I went to a private Christian school growing up and both creationism and evolution were taught so we could make up our own mind.

Answer 5

Not always. I'm a liberal, secular home schooler.
Funny you should ask...I just today heard another reason for people like me to homeschool:

the company that made (Al Gore's film about global warming) decided to offer 50,000 free DVDs to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) for educators to use in their classrooms.
The teachers had a different idea: Thanks but no thanks, they said.

In their e-mail rejection, they expressed concern that other "special interests" might ask to distribute materials, too; they said they didn't want to offer "political" endorsement of the film; and they saw "little, if any, benefit to NSTA or its members" in accepting the free DVDs.

Gore, however, is not running for office, and the film's theatrical run is long since over. As for classroom benefits, the movie has been enthusiastically endorsed by leading climate scientists worldwide, and is required viewing for all students in Norway and Sweden.

Still, maybe the NSTA just being extra cautious. But there was one more curious argument in the e-mail: Accepting the DVDs, they wrote, would place "unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters." One of those supporters, it turns out, is the Exxon Mobil Corp.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Corporations aren't going to decide my kids educational materials.

Answer 6

I don't know where goat-boy gets his info...
Homeschoolers in the USA consistently out perform public school students by 30 to 37 percentile points in every academic subject. The students who have spent the longest amount of time homeschooling have the highest scores, coming in between the 89th and 90th percentile nation-wide.

Answer 7

Perhaps.I think there is a higher proportion of Christian families who homeschool their children,and they would naturally want to teach their children the version of creation found in the Bible.
But there are quite a few creationists who have PhD's in areas such as geology,archaeology,astronomy and paleontology,so it's not just the homeschooled.

Answer 8

I have friends that home school their children. Some because they teach Creationism, some because they feel the public education system here is falling apart. I do not, my daughter goes to public school even though she wants to attend home schooling or the version her best friend attends. My personal belief is that public school will be better for her when she attends college as far as her social skills. Also because she is a exceptional softball player and is looking at scholarships. I do not know how colleges look at home school students regarding athletic scholarships. As for Creationists, and Young Earth believers, I fall into both. I believe that there is now too much evidence for a young earth to be ignored, and not enough for the old earth theory

Answer 9

no..homeschooling is growing because the public schools are wilder and wilder, and the lessons being taught in our school books have been rewritten over the ages, diluting patriotism to american, strange math ,,etc...the teachers union has created monsters for teachers that provoke our children to wrath, verbally abuse them, play favorites ,etc..
when I was a child my teachers were very loving , respectable people and they were well knowledged, today,,the teachers try to teach what they want as individuals, etc..
but creationism is something from the Holy Bible, you did not know that ?
Our kids learn negative things in the public school system from kids, and it creates a negative effect, but to be honest the teachers and principals in our nation, are sadly lacking,,greed stepped in, and love is non existent. I have had many problems with the principals and teachers, and so have other parents,,unions protect jobs of the worst of people, principals have maimed children, teachers having sex with students,, using a zero tolerance policy in abusive and unreasonable ways,,i could go on for awhile ,,but you get it now right ??

Answer 10

You do would desire to study better than the articles that help your viewpoint. the justifications for the upward thrust in diagnoses of autism is merely approximately completely simply by will strengthen interior the flexibility to locate the situation and the relabelling of alternative situations initially seen to be separate issues. There has additionally been an strengthen in self-prognosis by human beings searching for excuses (not appropriate on your case, of direction). the unique checklist exchange into printed interior the Lancet yet they retracted it Feb 2010 while they chanced on that Dr Wakefield had effectively, lied with a view to get it printed, subjected little ones to unauthorised and unneccesary painful concepts and had a financial incentive to discredit the MMR vaccine