Worldviews

A prevailing view on education is the idea that knowledge is neutral; that it is possible to teach in a way that does not reveal a religious view of the world. For example, Christians and those with other faiths or none can view much of science or literature or history in the same way. Faith is considered by many to be a helpful moral icing that we can put on top of a set of neutral, commonly-held beliefs.

Christians take a distinctive view of the origin and purpose of life. For a Christian, science is not the study of impersonal chance laws, it is the study of God’s created order and design. History is not the examination of random events or the march of progress; for the Christian, history is the unfolding of God’s plan. If a school leaves God out of the curriculum the school is making a religious statement, namely that God is not relevant to the majority of life, that life can be interpreted without reference to God.

Transparancy

In the Sheffield Christian Free School we are completely open about teaching the whole curriculum from a Christian perspective. Of course, we understand that ‘some people think differently’ and we are passionate and committed to teaching thoroughly and accurately other world view positions.

Research Evidence

‘the Christian community is being reproduced in the Christian schools’.

Professor Leslie Francis of Warwick University

Professor Francis, based on extensive research carried out in the 1990′s, found that teenagers in the new Christian schools were spiritually and psychologically healthy. They were less superstitious, less racist, less likely to be bullied and more concerned about global issues than their counterparts in secular schools. Further research, carried out more than ten years later by Dr Sylvia Baker, substantiate these results and added to them. In 2011, the research project continues with responses from former pupils aged between 17 and 45. Go deeper to find out more.

Click here to Go Deeper

Click here to listen to … Christian Education: What is it all About?

Click here to listen to … The Who, Why and What of Education, Part 1 and Part 2.

Click here to read … Secular Indoctrination in Society and Education a paper by Arthur Jones

Click here to read … The Theory of Evolution and the Christian School (under construction)