What is the motivation behind JW and post secondary education. Why are they so aggresively against it?

Question

They strongly recommend trades and strongly discourage post secondary education.

Why. esp since higher earning potential allows for more time at home, at service ??

to Clarify my comment on aggressiveness I add these for exhibits:

A: “Many, both young and old, extol the importance of an academic education. Some experts even say that they “fully believe that you will never be able to find a [decent] job without a college degree.” Yet, there are a number of human needs that go beyond material achievements. For instance, does higher learning help you to be a good parent, mate, or friend? For that matter, people admired for their intellectual achievements may develop undesirable personality traits, fail in their family life, or even end up committing suicide.”
Source: http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2005/10/15/article_01.htm
B: *** Awake! May 8 1989 pp.13-14 What Career Should I Choose? ***

Answer 1

Jehovah's Witnesses do not condemn or punish those who choose to pursue secular education. However, the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses certainly understands that it has some obligation to admonish its adherents to keep reminding themselves of their priorities in this life and the next.

To be fair, it must be noted that Jehovah's Witnesses also caution those in the workforce to maintain their focus on Godly pursuits. Materialism and reliance on self are mentioned in the bible as leading away from, rather than to, true worship.

Answer 2

I'm not a JW, but I can speculate a bit.

Several verses in the bible tell peole to "work with their hands" and others discuss the "virtue" of physical labor. Perhaps they believe (and not alltogether incorrectly), that physical labor is more "spiritual" than mental labor.

As for your second argument, my own experience suggests that it is false to assume that higher education leads to more time at home and at service. I know very few people that work in trades that work more than 40 - 50 hours per week and most of them leave their jobs at work. On the other hand, many people that work in jobs that require higher education work MUCH longer hours and they often bring work home with them! Most of my colleagues have a Ph.D. and they all work an average of 60 hours per week and nearly all of them bring work home with them. When I look at the people that volunteer at my church and at various charitable organizations I'm familiar with, many more of them are in "trade" positions than in management or other "professional" positions! Higher education can lead to an excess of ambition and a desire to climb the corporate ladder (unfortunately, all to frequently, at the expense of their family and service)...many trade jobs don't have a corporate ladder to climb so people aren't distracted from their family and service responsibilities by unnecessary ambitions.

Answer 3

As I understand it, they feel that such education will draw their followers away from the faith. You can't be having your people exposed to the world and its evil educated ways of thinking if you're trying to run a church based on ignorance.

Thanks for the thumb down, whoever you are (heiss?). I deserved it for that one.

Answer 4

Because higher education is also often associated with atheistic views

and we all know education is the devil

Answer 5

not against it.

Its just that if it gets in the way of the preaching work which is infinitely more important given that we believe that human governments are about to be replaced by gods government and we want as many people as possible to be on his side and do his will.

Answer 6

Because an education will get the followers questioning the sanity of their beliefs.

Answer 7

We can't have people thinking and researching for themselves ...can we?