FREE ESSAY ON EFFECTS OF RELIGION ON EDUCATION

EFFECTS OF RELIGION ON EDUCATION

The Effect of Religion on Education
Religion has played an important part in the development of education ever since the
beginning, even before the creation of schools. The first schools, which were
monasteries, started around the Dark Ages, approximately 450 A.D.; Back then, education's
only purpose was to people of the religious persuasion, especially Christianity.
Christianity is the religion that has most affected education, and so was the case back
then, too. Those people I was talking about before were the ones with the power, however.
The pope commanded more respect and authority than the king, the church taxed the people,
and the church dictated the laws of the land. The church was in charge of the people's
souls, so they took responsibility for everything else. Even the king and his court was
subject to the church's rule, as no one would really stand up to the church's authority.
So of course, certain people in the church became corrupt and used religion as a way to
coerce their own fortunes or luxuries. This went on for hundreds of years. Some of the
abuses were issues of immorality, such as the practices of celibacy not being followed
and indulgences (pardons for your sins) and offices were sold out. Erasmus, a monk and
humanist who wrote "In Praise of Folley", was one of the first people who outright
condemned the abuses of the church. He believed education should develop piety and
morality, and should give the people vocational skills.
Then around the 1300's, around the time of Protestant Reformation, a monk named Martin
Luther became the first well-known opposer of the church's abuses. He wrote many books,
some of which stirred popular unrest among the people. Around this time, more people
started thinking more in secular terms, and not so much blindly following the church.
More and more, commoners were becoming poorer so they followed the secular movement;
needing a scapegoat (the church) to blame for the lack of food and money. Then to add
fuel to the fire, the printing press was invented. This allowed the people to see the
bible for themselves, a book which was before only held in the hands of the church.
People could interpret the book for themselves, and didn't need the church or it's
priests as much as they used to. Religion was the only kind of education until then, as
people started to try and see the world in a more secular sense. This was the beginning
of the end of education and religion being tied so closely together. The church lost a
lot of power, as the bible became the ultimate authority replacing the pope and the
priests. Around this time, universal education started. Universal education is the system
in which everyone, even commoners, have the right to a basic elementary education. Martin
Luther also introduced other new ideas concerning education, such as state controlled
curriculum, teacher certification, and finances. He also believed in vocational and
higher education being made available for everyone, not just the wealthy or elite.
The next great development in the Religion/Education relationship came around the time of
the population of North America by the Europeans. There were three major colonies in the
territory that is now the U.S.: the North, Middle and South colonies. Each took to
education in a different manner. 
The Northern colonies formed a theocratic government, as the people were of similar
religion and ethnicity. Universal education was upheld, as schools were paid for by
subscription, or church taxes. This meant the curriculum was Christianity-based, just as
in England before. Communities with 50 households were made to establish a school (Old
Deluder Satan Law of 1647) and truancy was enforced upon.
The Middle Colonies had a lot more diversity, and religion played less of a role in the
education system. The South Colonies had a lot of space between the residents, so
religion played even less of an important role in education.
The biggest blow to date to the relationship between education and religion was the
Establishment clause (1789) in the Bill of Rights, stating the separation of church and
state. This ended the religious influence on education, at least in the United States.
There are other countries in the world where religion plays a part in the educational
system, but more and more countries are shying away from it.
In conclusion, Religion (especially Christianity) has played an important part in
Education all over the world up to about the 1700's. There are still some lasting
reminders, though, such as colleges once built for religious purposes but now the
prominent secular education centers. Some examples are Harvard University (1636), College
of New Jersey (later named Princeton, founded by Presbyterians in 1746), Kings College
(later named Columbia University, founded by Anglicans in 1754), and the College of Rhode
Island (later named Brown University, founded by the Baptists in 1764). But needless to
say, the contributions given to education by religion can never be replaced or taken
back, and maybe it's better that way.