There are some who argue that Christian children should remain in the public schools to be ‘salt and light’ to their classmates. The evidence, from Scripture and real life experience, proves that this is unrealistic and harmful.

According to E. Ray Moore of Exodus Mandate, “The reality of the situation is that very little Christian witnessing is ever done by children in public schools to begin with. As with everything else in life, there are of course some exceptions to the rule.”

“The research data on the success of the public schools in indoctrinating Christian youth with humanistic or neo-pagan worldviews is overwhelming. The Nehemiah Institute’s worldview PEERS test shows that 83-percent of the children from committed Christian families in public schools adopt a secular humanist or Marxist socialist worldview. At the SBC’s 2002 annual meeting, the Southern Baptist Council on Family Life reported, among other disturbing things, that 88-percent of the children raised in evangelical homes leave church at age 18. Barna Research reports that only 9-percent of born-again teens believe in moral absolutes, and more than half believe that Jesus sinned while He was on earth. We believe the fact that 80-percent of Christian families send their children to public schools is a prime reason for this lost legacy.“

Frederick C. Foote of The Alliance for the Separation of School & State expresses similar opinions.

“Let us now apply this understanding of salt and light to sending our young children to public schools. As we have stressed, merely associating with unbelievers does not make our Christian children salt and light. In order to be salt and light, they must exhibit in their school classrooms and playgrounds the kind of mature, practical, single-minded devotion to Christ that results in a peculiar attractiveness: a magnetism of qualities that preserves the good, enlightens the darkness, and gives glory to God.”

“Speaking for ourselves, we know we were not salt and light in our elementary schools. We were fools (Solomon’s appraisal of children in Proverbs 22:15, and we thoroughly agree). As such, we paid close attention to the other fools in our class — how they acted, what they said, what they wore, and what they valued. We teased those whom it was safe to tease, rebelled just enough to be considered cool, and tried to be well-liked. By most worldly measures we were successes both academically and socially. But unlike Jesus (who did not regard the opinions of men), we monitored the opinions of our peers constantly.”

“As for influence, we learned more about evil from the group than the group learned about righteousness from us. We didn’t preserve anything of godliness in our class. And we didn’t shed as much light as was snuffed out by the company of immature friends. They impacted us more than vice versa. Guaranteed.“

“In short, we spent time with our young and foolish friends, but we were not salt and light. We fit in.”

Richard “Little Bear” Wheeler has a message available in print and on CD titled, “Warning! Public Schools Aren’t For Christians” that covers the same topic. Well worth reading or listening to.

Warning! Public Schools Aren’t For Christians, CD version

Warning! Public Schools Aren’t For Christians, Online version