“Thus, conservative Protestant theology posits a dualistic human nature: we are essentially sinful, in need of discipline; and we are essentially good, worthy of love.” p. 65, Kingdom of Children: Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement by Mitchell Stevens

This book by sociologist Mitchell Stevens has a lot of good stuff in it, but I think he has a basic misunderstanding of the theology, and hence the motivations, of Christian homeschoolers. We do believe that humans are inherently sinful, but we and our children are not in need of discipline for our sinfulness. We are sinners in need of grace, in need of a Saviour. No amount of discipline or teaching in ethics or spanking or law-giving is sufficient to turn sinners into saints. Only the forgiveness and grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can change evil into good.

Nor do evangelicals teach and believe that we have a “dualistic human nature” that is “essentially good” and “worthy of love.” I am worthy of nothing. The Bible teaches that my so-called righteousness, my pitiful attempts to do good and follow God’s law, are like filthy rags in the sight of a Truly Good God who made us to be so much more than we have chosen to be. God doesn’t make “junk”, but I have become junk in His sight. Again, I’m not worthy of God’s love, but I get it anyway because, the Bible teaches, that God Himself is Love, not because I am lovable.

So why do evangelical Christians discipline and teach their children at all? Except for the legalists among us, who can be legion, we don’t discipline in order to make the children good. The Bible says that the law of God is given for the purpose of showing us our own sinfulness. So, almost paradoxically, we teach children Biblical ethics so that they can see for themselves how far short of God’s ideal we all fall. And we teach other things — reading, writing, arithmetic, art –not to free the beautiful inner child waiting to blossom, but rather to prepare the child to be a servant to the One who made him. We pray that our children will see their need for a Saviour and will then choose to serve Him with the talents and gifts He has placed in their lives.

This misunderstanding of the evangelical view of human nature and the purpose of education has implications for the rest of Mr. Mitchell’s thesis in his, nonetheless, enlightening book, Kingdom of Children. His primary conclusion is that there is a divide in the homeschooling world between two groups that he calls believers (evangelical Protestant Christians) and inclusives (everyone else). He says that this gap is due, not so much to differences in ideology and belief, but rather differences about “who would be welcome in their associations, who would be in charge, or how decisions would be made.” Homeschoolers do divide over these issues; however, these differences in style and organization are only symptoms of a deeper difference in ideology. True “inclusives” believe, finally, that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you don’t believe your belief system to Truly True. True “believers”, although they are capable of working together with diverse groups in a common cause, in the final analysis, believe. Evangelical Christians believe that the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news indeed and is true for all people whether they believe it or not. Therefore, they’re not willing to have their children taught belief systems that are antithetical to what they believe is the only possible way of salvation. Also, Christians believe that sin is dangerous and tempting (bad company corrupts good morals), and that children are already undiscerning and tempted to sin and don’t need more temptation in their lives. All these underlying beliefs about who people are and how they work cause most of the splits that I see in the homeschooling world between “inclusives” and “believers”.

That said, I see much more overlap and cooperation between homeschoolers of different ideologies and beliefs than Mr. Mitchell indicates in his book. I am a member of a Christian homeschool co-op. We have a statement of faith that members are required to sign because we are engaged in teaching classes to the children, and we want those classes taught in accordance with our beliefs. However, we have Catholic homeschoolers in our co-op and members from many other Christian denominations. We have families that use a very rigid, school-like curriculum, and families that are much more free-spirited, unschooling types. And we advertise for other groups that plan activities that are more inclusive, and many of our co-op members also attend field trips and support group meetings and classes with homeschoolers of all different backgrounds. I see all kinds of homeschoolers cooperating all the time, and I also, unfortunately, see splits among Christian homeschoolers over issues such as dress codes or affiliations or other issues, large and small, as often as I see splits between evangelical Christians and other groups.

Although I feel that Mr. Stevens didn’t dig deeply enough in his investigation of “culture and controversy in the homeschooling movement,” there are many good insights in his book. I recommend it as a starting point for those who are interested in understanding the history and interactions of the homeschool movement from a sociological perspective. However, if you’re outside that movement, don’t allow Mr. Mitchell’s book to be the last word on the subject; come see for yourself what homeschooling is all about. You might find a lot of interaction and cooperation between many diverse individuals and groups who share one common bond: a desire to rear and educate chlldren in the best possible way.