Are kids in Christian classes coming out less Christian?
For example, the study found, the adjusted net effect on students of private, Catholic schooling versus public schooling was to produce graduates even less likely to believe in moral absolutes, to respect the authority of the Catholic Church, to believe in the infallibily of Scripture or to condemn premarital sex.
The study also discovered, for example, that "the stereotypical picture of the highly political right-wing Protestant Christian is false," finding that graduates of Christian schools are less engaged in politics than their peers, as measured by talking less about politics, participating less in campaigns and donating less to political causes.
"In contrast to the popular stereotypes portraying Christian schools as promoting a socially fragmented, anti-intellectual, politically radical and militantly right-winged lifestyle," claims the survey from Cardus, a think tank focusing on North American society, "this comprehensive study reveals a very different picture of the Christian school graduate."
"Compared to their public school, Catholic school and non-religious private school peers," the study determined, "Protestant Christian school graduates are uniquely compliant, generous, outwardly-focused individuals who stabilize their communities by their uncommon commitment to their families, their churches and larger society. … Graduates of Christian schools donate money [to charity] significantly more than graduates of other schools, despite having lower household income. Similarly, graduates of Protestant Christian schools are more generous with their time, participating far more than their peers both in service trips for relief and development and in mission trips for evangelization."
"In many cases, the difference in outcomes between Catholic and Protestant Christian schools is striking," the study states. "Catholic schools provide superior academic outcomes, an experience that translates into graduates' enrollment in more prestigious colleges and universities, more advanced degrees and higher household income.
The authors of the study concluded, "Protestant Christian schools play a vital role in the long-term faith of their students, while Catholic schools seem to be largely irrelevant, sometimes even counterproductive to the development of their students' faith."
Religious home education produced the greatest effect on increasing graduates' belief that morality should be based on an absolute, unchanging standard (see graph at right), while Catholic schooling actually decreased this belief.
The Cardus team again summarized their findings: "This research finds that Catholic schools are providing higher quality intellectual development, at the expense of developing students' faith and commitment to religious practices. Protestant Christian schools, conversely, are providing a place where students become distinct in their commitment to faith, but are not advancing to higher education any more than their public school peers. Graduates of Catholic schools and non-religious private schools show a significant advantage in years of education, while Protestant Christian school graduates have statistically identical attainment levels as their public school peers. Additionally, graduates of Protestant Christian schools attend less competitive colleges than both their Catholic and non-religious private school peers."
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