What percentage of people homeschool for religious reasons?

Question

And as a follow-up... What are the religious reasons? Social? Scientific (e.g., anti-evolution)? Areas of study?

I've recently met a lot of folks (well... a lot is relative) who don't want their kids learning certain things, mostly evolution, but also about other cultures and religions.

Answer 1

hmmm, that is sad about the few folks you have met.
As a parent, I want my children to learn as much as they can about as much as they can. I do not teach my children, (nor do I practice it myself) to only learn about the things you agree with.
If you do that, how do you know if you really agree with it or not, to what do you compare?
But, to answer your question, religious reasons? Not sure what you mean.
I am a born again, Spirit filled Christian, very involved in our local church. I have a certain opinion about things. When we made the decision to begin homeschooling it was a decision that involved wise counsel and lots of prayer. Part of the reason I wanted to take over the education of our children was because I wanted them to learn certain things IN ADDITION TO the things they learn in PS, not in place of those things.
Bible is a credit class in my homeschool. My elementary aged son uses Bible verses (in addition to other things) for handwriting. We study creation AND evolution. We study the religions of the world. We also explore various world cultures as well as the many blended cultures found in this country. Additionally, we study the Christian heritage of our country, and the influences of Christianity world wide. When we study history, we study from both a secular and Biblical point of view. I just tell my kiddos their brains really can handle looking at events and studies from more than one point of view. That, all by itself, I believe, equips them to be far better decision makers than those that only learn one way of looking at things, and that includes many in the public schools. People spout on and on about how a public education gives a more rounded point of view, but they do not take in to consideration that the public system has been so sanitized in to a politically correct gray mess, that it is not as well rounded as it used to be.
One of the rules I have is "you cannot speak out against something, nor embrace something as yours, without knowing about it." That is the problem I have with many on this forum (in all areas, not just homeschooling). They speak out against things they obviously know nothing about.
It's the same principal I use in raising my teenage daughter. I examine closely the teen culture. I listen to their music, I look at their fashion magazines, I watch the shows they list as their "faves" when friends come over, I spend a few minutes getting to know them, I ask questions, I even have a myspace. And, my daughter respects that. She knows that when I lower the boom on something and say no, I'm not doing it out of emotion or how I feel, it is a decision based on my own life experience plus my knowledge of her little world.

I know there are people like you described out there, I've met them too. But rest assured, that what seem like a relative "lot" to you, is in reality, a minority.

Answer 2

I'm guessing that the percentage is going to depend a lot on where you live. For example, if you are in an area with a high concentration of certain denominations, you may find there are more homeschoolers homeschooling for religious reasons--because a few families start and it spreads through the congregation.

I have to say that where I live, I've probably come in contact with well over 100 homeschooling families. Not ONE of them chose to homeschool for religious reasons. Most of them began homeschooling after their kids had already been in school and there were issues. Many of the families are religious, but their religion wasn't the reason why they pulled the children.

I will add that I don't understand not sending your child to school so they don't learn about evolution. I'm not sure what is studied in the States, but where I live, evolution is not even a part of the curriculum until one course in high school biology. Religions are not learned about usually except through high school religious education classes. Cultures are a big thing, but we live in a very multicultural place--on my street alone, we have Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, African, English Canadian, French Canadian and German families! And this is just on my street.

Answer 3

Religion is one reason among many. I also find the public system to be dreadfully inadequate. I believe that the state standards are ridiculously age inappropriate.

On the positive side we are really close as a family, my children are each others best friends. We enjoy an extraordinary amount of peace and love in our home. Not to say we don't have some bad days but in the main, life is good for all of us. We tend to take a slower pace and enjoy good books and playing together and it's amazing how much they learn in a way that is fun and noncoercive.

Anywhoo, I don't hide anything from my children, I just explain it in the context of right and wrong.

Answer 4

No, I do not do it because of religion, but religion is a component of why I do it. I live in a multicultural society that embraces all. That is wonderful. EXCEPT Christians are not allowed to express themselves as Christians in the public school, all other religions and cultures are celebrated. That is a bias. I want my children to have an accurate and relevant understanding of history without having the life sucked out of it. I want to shield my children's impressionable minds from lies and hypocrisy. We recently had a teacher teaching that the holocaust is a myth, A principal and teachers in a Boulder Colarado high school told the school assembly to have sex with as many different people as they could and, yes it's normal to have sex with one's own gender. And use Extasy to help enhance the experience. For the 12 and 13 year olds-"masturbate, please masturbate". That happened in April-they were not reprimanded or removed from their positions. The public school is a fertile ground to sow controversial and political ideas. One politician is invited in to tell how great his party is, but his oponent is not. One side of a controvery is presented, but not the other. I don't want to get involved with the creation/evoloution controversy; there are more immediate problems at hand. Why in the UK they are modifying their history content so they do not offend Muslims? And the HUGE issue of bullying and emotional abuse the child endures to NOT get an education at all (and some of the bullies are the teachers) just about sums it up.

Answer 5

Correct me if I am wrong, from what I am gathering you are asking "how many do it strictly for religious reasons"?

I would say a much smaller percentage than you think, however these are the home school families that are always brought to the forefront since it helps the home school opponents keep the general myths about home schooling alive.

Truly there are as many reasons as there are families, but most find the conventional schools both private, and public to be lacking greatly in providing quality academics, as wells as providing a positive social, and moral environment.

One of many reasons for us to choose home schooling is without a doubt our faith, and that we believe that God has directed the (believing) parents to be the first, and most important teachers in a child's life.

This directive is to incorporate all area's, spiritual, physical, mental, social, moral and academics.

Churches, and schools should be there to assist the parents if they need it, and when the parents request their help.

Therefore if the parents object to certain teachings they have the freedom to choose home schooling, or private Christian schooling in order for their children to be brought up in accordance with their beliefs.

Answer 6

We're a Pagan/UU family, so one of the things I like about homeschooling is that our kids can learn about different religions as part of their education. I also like being able to incorporate or Pagan holidays and beliefs in our lessons, as they wouldn't get this at any school.

However, I wouldn't say I homeschool for religious reasons at all-- they really didn't factor into the decision making, but it's a nice bonus.

Answer 7

According to the US Census Bureau and other sources, in 2000 only 33 percent of homeschooling parents cited religion as a reason for homeschooling (and many of these parents cited other reasons as well). On the other hand, 50.8 percent cited a belief that their children could get a better education through homeschooling, while 29.8 percent stated that school offers a poor learning environment, and 11.5 percent said that their children were not being challenged in school. (12)

Statistics that correctly state that the majority of homeschoolers in America identify themselves as Christian should not be mistaken for evidence that homeschooling is a religiously based phenomenon. The vast majority of Americans in general identify themselves as Christians--85 percent in 2003, according to a Gallup poll--so it is no surprise that the majority of both homeschoolers and conventional schoolers also identify themselves as Christian. (13-16) Some families choose homeschool, private school, or public school for religious reasons, and some homeschooling families are religious fundamentalists, just as some non-homeschooling families are. Like the general population, the homeschooling population comprises families of all religions, as well as many families who would classify themselves as agnostic, atheist, or unaffiliated with any established religion. (17)

Answer 8

I don't know the answer to this. I only know that religion is not the reason we homeschool. I have not met one homeschooling family that does it for religious purposes. More and more families are choosing to go this route because they are just sick to death of the poor education their children are getting in the public schools.

Answer 9

We are 'religious' but that is not our main reason for home schooling. The main reason is because my son was in the 8th grade and not learning. He did not write in cursive, his spelling was terrible, his math was below grade level, etc. The school passed him from grade to grade and I knew he needed an education.
Evolution is taught in the media and in the schools as fact, and not as theory. That bothers me. I don't mind teaching him evolution, but I want to approach it with scientific thinking and for him to be able to question the 'experts'.
We encourage being around other cultures and I would not keep him from associating and being friends with people from other religions.
The myth is that home school people are some sort of of reclusive religious fanatics. It ain't so. It is a myth.
Home school families are as varied as public school families. If you meet one family, you meet one family...not all of them.

Answer 10

We home school for a variety of reasons. I feel kids need to have a balanced and real education which includes religion. History in America is full of religion that if you leave out leaves all kinds of holes making it boring, uneventful, and even inconsequential.

My children are taught creation Science(by the way, we are finding out together there is more actual scientific proof to creation than there is to evolution, its amazing what even "evolution scientists" have admitted). The curriculum actually lays the evolution science out as well and shows why creation makes more sense scientifically, not just "just believe it because the Bible says."

My kids are exposed (both intentionally and through their many social outlets) to all types of cultures, as well as different age groups and economical backgrounds. I don't know of any home school family that shuts their kids out of the real world. That would be a travesty! I am sure some are out there though, just as there are some bad examples of public school education.

Hope this answers your questions.