Worldview and Education
Our worldview is tied into everything we do. Everything.
What is a worldview?
- A worldview is your belief system and philosophy that governs your life.
- We interpret and judge reality from our worldview.
- It is our basic core beliefs that direct our daily decisions and actions.
- We act according to our worldview and what we believe.
- Our passions are directed by what we believe.
- A worldview functions as eyeglasses. It is how we see everything; we see everything through that lens of beliefs and ideologies.
Where do you stand? Do you have a biblical worldview? Or a secular humanist worldview? An atheistic view?
For an introduction to this article, here are some interesting statistics. These come from Voddie Baucham’s sermon on a Christian Worldview, which I recommend listening to. https://youtu.be/Q4kKKdNUW1E
- Less than 10% of professing Christians in America have a biblical worldview.
- Only 51% of pastors in America have a biblical worldview.
This makes me wonder then… how many educators and teachers in the school system do you think have a biblical worldview?
Our education forms our worldview, so this is very important.
And a scary thing to consider in light of this: Students become like their teachers.
And a few more interesting statistics:
- 2/3 of Christians assert there is no absolute moral truth.
- 4 out of 10 Christians say they are absolutely committed to the Christian faith.
- 62% of professing Christians say nothing can be known for certain unless you physically experienced it in your life.
- 85% of church youth agree with the statement: What is right for one person in a given situation may not be right or true for another person.
So even a Christian school or even your youth group may not be instilling the values and pouring in the ideas that you would hope.
So whose job is it to mold your children’s worldview? It isn’t the school or government’s job. It actually isn’t even the church’s job (although you should be part of a church). This job has been given to the parents. It falls on us. We are to raise them, mold them, train them, instill our values in them, etc. And this can only happen when we are the main part of their life.
As you can see from the statistics given above, most of the next generation is fine with situational ethics. You have your truth and I have my truth. Secular humanism is taking over. This is a problem! What is it? Secular humanism is the belief that humanity is capable of morality and self-fulfillment without the belief in God. Human reason is all one needs to make decisions.
“Secular humanism incorporates the Enlightenment principle of individualism, which celebrates emancipating the individual from traditional controls by family, church, and state, increasingly empowering each of us to set the terms of his or her own life.”
https://secularhumanism.org/what-is-secular-humanism/
In contrast, what is a biblical worldview?
A biblical worldview is the framework of ideas and beliefs through which a Christian views and interacts with the world. And when I say Christian here, it means a Bible believing Christian.
Education and Worldview
At the core of all education is a worldview. This worldview is absorbed by our children and has a profound impact on their life. Sometimes this might be subtle or minor, and other times this impact will be huge. All worldviews, by nature, are religious. So, I beg you, don’t fall into the trap of believing that public education is neutral or nonreligious.
All education is religious:
“Education is a completely religious endeavor. It is impossible to impart knowledge to students without building on religious presuppositions. Education is built on the foundation of the instructor's worldview (and the worldview of those who developed the curriculum). It is a myth that education can be nonreligious - that is, that education can go on in a vacuum that deliberately excludes the basic questions about life. It is not possible to separate religious values from education. This is because all the fundamental questions of education require religious answers.”
~ Doug Wilson- Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning
The different approach made possible by classical homeschooling frees education to become a lifestyle of learning. This is vastly different from the game of working the short-term memory for a reward of grades in traditional schools. Education can be so much more! Rather than the dumbing down of things, classical homeschooling teaches students to think critically through hard topics. For example, take learning the U.S. Constitution. In schools they dumb it down by giving summaries. They don’t study the original document. And then the students’ knowledge is reduced to a multiple-choice test. There is no great conversation and analyzing of the text. The students don’t break down the text by defining various parts and asking questions. And this should not be! But the schools operate from a different worldview and with different goals.
Teaching worldview:
Homeschooling is wonderful because we have control over the worldview that is poured into our children. Education is worldview development! We tie our beliefs and virtues into everything we do. What we teach, how we teach, and why we teach all reflect our worldview. Our goal as Christian parents should be to impart the knowledge of God to our children in their education. God has instructed parents to teach their children in His ways (see the scriptures here). The public school system does not align with God’s ways and is increasingly hostile to them. If you choose to send your child into public school, yet you claim to have a biblical worldview – your child is going to be confused. These two things are at odds with each other. The public school system operates from a secular humanist worldview. God cannot be found there. The majority of influences in your children’s life will not share the same ideology. This matters.
Our philosophy of education, the curriculum we choose, even our schedule reflects our worldview. And through these things in homeschooling, we can teach and model proper attitude and Christian character. We only have so much time to influence our children while they remain under our roof. We have to make the most of the time we have. In the blink of an eye- the time is done.
Schools are inefficient and waste a good amount of time. There is no way school should take 7-8 hours a day. As a homeschooling mom, I am able to get all of our school done in 2-3 hours when they are elementary aged. This leaves most of the day open for creative exploration outside, drawing in their sketchbook, helping me cook, etc. Kids need to go play! The work my high schoolers do on the other hand takes quite a bit more time.
Everything we learn comes from God, reflects God, and points us back to Him. Classical education approaches learning this way. As we dive into our education, we tie in the fact that all things are from God. He designed it all. He upholds all things. And all things should reflect and glorify Him. In learning, we are learning about God, how he created, what he created, etc. Science reflects God. Reason, logic, and mathematics all reflect God.
Romans 11:36 - For from him and through him and for him are all things.
Psalm 19:1 - The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
The world likes to tell us that God and faith are separate from things such as science and reason. But this is not so. Because, again, everything comes from God. God made math and science, and they reflect His nature and His creation. God is a God of order and logic. Math reflects His orderly creation. The things that the world tells us are opposite and separate are actually false dichotomies. These things are not in opposition, but are actually parallel. For example: faith vs. reason and religion vs. science. These couldn’t be more connected!
The fathers of science operated from a theistic worldview, with the Creator in mind. The heavens declare the glory of God. This should drive us to do science rightly. Secular humanism undermines good science. How do you do good science if you cannot depend on consistency in the world?
A Biblical worldview vs. secular humanism
How about our view of ethics? Secular humanism says that ethics are cultural and negotiated. They can shift and change from person to person. On the other hand, a Christian with a biblical worldview says that ethics are objective and universal. Our morality comes from God, who is Truth and never shifts or changes.
Why we teach what we teach also reflects our worldview. For example, why is it important to learn to read? Secular humanism says because you need to get ahead. You need to know the text and be able to take the test. A biblical worldview says because God has revealed himself in written form. The sooner you can read, the sooner you can access this and learn it.
Why should we write? Secular humanism’s answer – well… apparently they think writing is not needed anymore. It is hardly taught in schools. Grammar is glossed over. Creative writing is almost nonexistent. If you don’t believe me, ask a college teacher how their students are writing. As a Christian, we believe that we should always be ready to give an answer to anyone. We should be able to write and explain our ideas, as God has revealed Himself through written Word.
Why study math & science? Secular humanism says to study math and science so you can get a good job and better test scores. With a biblical worldview in mind though, we believe we should learn math and science because the heavens declare the glory of God and we should seek God through his revelation. How about history? As a Christian, history reveals God’s providence over time. And since history tends to repeat itself, it is wise to see our past and where we came from to learn where we may be heading.
Do you see how we were able to tie in a biblical worldview into these various subjects?
I could go on… art and music, English and other languages, geography…
We have to ask ourselves: what do you want to achieve in educating your children?
If it is just about test scores, then we have it all wrong.
We can make education so much more than a short-term memory project… with a reward system of grades and report cards and participation trophies or certificates. Education is instilling a love to understanding the world we live in. It is preparing our children for life and creating a lifestyle of learning. Because we never really finish learning…
In molding heart and character of our children, we should strive for excellence and to glorify God. On the side of secular humanism, emphasis is just placed on the outcome and test scores and they are sent down the assembly line. In our Christian homeschool, it is more than subjects and tests. We want them to be able to think for themselves… not be scared of opposing ideas… to seek truth, goodness, and beauty. And we can only do this when we they are under our wings and engaged in the great conversations of life.
Answers In Genesis
To back up more of these ideas, Answers In Genesis has also published an article about education and worldview. This couldn’t be said better! The following comes from “Christian Education vs. Public School” (link at the bottom)
“Public schools in the United States actively teach religion. One aspect of a religious worldview is origins: the question of where everything, and of course humans, came from. Public schools in America are commissioned, under threat of legal action, to teach evolution as the origin story. And evolution is not observational science since it’s not observable, repeatable, or testable. Instead, evolution is a religious doctrine that is dependent upon naturalistic principles, yet it lacks unambiguous evidential support. But that doesn’t stop public schools from teaching it.
Every challenge a school district or teacher has brought against teaching evolution in public schools has failed in the courts. The religious origins narrative of evolution is protected by law. When public schools get out of line, lawyers straighten them out.
The teaching of evolutionary origins is just one demonstration of the religious nature of public education. But it’s not the only one. Public schools, to varying degrees, actively promote unbiblical views not just in science but sex education, LGBTQ+ ideology, critical race theory, and a host of other worldview and religious issues. This does not suggest that all public-school teachers reject the Bible. Many teachers and students in the public school system follow Christ but are very limited, leaving the religious nature of public education unchanged.
Public schools cannot support biblical Christianity because they are founded on a different, naturalistic religion. At its core, public education is anti-Christian. Going back to your child and those 2,210 days in the classroom: if she attends a public school, those 2,210 days will indoctrinate her into an anti-Christian worldview. Even if that is not the intent, it will be the effect.
Our goal as Christian parents should be to provide a Christian education to our children. If we must use public schools, we should actively combat the negative worldview and social influences that public school indoctrination will inflict upon our kids. Again, the responsibility lies with the parent to oversee their child’s education and biblical learning—in this case, knowing that the public education system is actively attempting to undermine Christian principles.”