Freedom of Speech, Fundamentalist Schools and

Even though Christian fundamentalist schools educate less than 2% of the K–12 students in the United States, their educational philosophies and practices raise basic issues concerning their role in U.S. life and in the lives of the students they educate. Several fundamentalist beliefs reject key tenets associated with liberal democratic citizenship, including toleration for differing points of view concerning what constitutes a well-functioning democracy.

Although fundamentalist Christian schools are not homogenous in all aspects, the basic principles that guide their curricula generally rest on the following beliefs: the inerrancy of the Bible, creationism rather than evolution, salvation by faith alone, [Page 935]the sinfulness of homosexual behavior, and that women should submit willingly to their husbands. Dissent on these issues is strongly discouraged; however, the evidence that fundamentalist schools reject teaching many of the foundational principles of civic participation, which in theory at least are promoted in public schools, is lacking. Civic participation is not a single construct; it is composed of many different attitudes and values.

Roughly 10% of U.S. K–12 students attend non-public schools. Since the 1920s, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, “The child is not the mere creature of the State;” thus ensuring the relative autonomy of nonpublic schools from state regulation. Most private schools in the United States are parochial; Roman Catholic schools constitute the largest number of nonpublic schools, but there are many other types of religious, experimental, and independent schools within this sector.

As a matter of fairness and accuracy, it should be noted that other religious schools, like fundamentalist schools, have a very low tolerance for dissent when it comes to certain theological and social doctrines. The Roman Catholic school system, for instance, has strong teachings on abortion, marriage, and homosexuality that are not subject to democratic decision making inside or outside the Church. This entry examines the topic of freedom of speech in fundamentalist schools from two perspectives: Do Christian fundamentalist schools undermine the democratic purposes of precollegiate education, and what evidence is there that fundamentalist schools suppress freedom of speech in their educational offerings?