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• Teaching Faith in the home
One of the main advantages that parents who choose to homeschool their children enjoy is the ability to control the moral environment in which their children grow up. Indeed, recent surveys have shown that over 70 percent of parents cite this as a major factor in their decision to not enroll their children in school.
Christian homeschooling is definitely the most popular form of religious homeschooling in North America. It’s estimated that approximately 90% of homeschooled children in the United States are taught according to the Christian homeschool method.
There are numerous other religions that are taught in the home by families. Even families, emphasizing their libertarian beliefs through homeschooling, are often lumped into the category of religious homeschoolers (probably because there seems to be no other intuitive category to place them in).
• Religious Texts in the Home
Most religious homeschool curriculums involve a significant amount time studying a religious text. Nearly 40 percent of parents, who homeschool, say that they use a text from a church, synagogue or other religious institution as part of their standard curriculum. In many other cases, school subjects take a back seat to religion and are approached and taught in religious terms.
• Criticisms of Religious Homeschooling
One of the central criticisms lodged against homeschooling has to do with religion. Homeschooling opponents have the same opinion that parents should have the right to raise their children in a religious environment, but they suggest that doing so may be detrimental to children, as they may not become socialized to accept other individuals with different religious and ethnic backgrounds.
There is an underlying fear that homeschooling will deter critical thought and foster religious extremism.
To contradict these assertions, many homeschoolers go as far as to accuse the public school system of corrupting their children's minds with false secular ideals and values. Despite the fact that there is no definitive proof that any of the claims for or against religious homeschooling have any real merit, there’s still an underlying sense of uneasiness from many members of the general public when it comes to religious homeschooling.
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