Beyond Church Attendance: Taking Ownership of Religious Culture and Educational Choices

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Seven
  In Roundtable Session: Parental Influences and Perspectives on Religion and Schooling (Table 14)

Abstract

Parents have specific reasons for choosing the schools that they do for their children. Numerous attempts have been made to bring clarity to the matter, but the decision-making processes for school choice – especially as it pertains to faith-based schools – remain murky. I posit that the religious and cultural identity of a parent may have a significant relationship with the school they choose for their child. By quantifying the culture of a Protestant denomination in America through the cultural consensus model, I was able to operationalize that measure as a variable alongside others such as income, educational context and social network. The results indicate that there is a strong association between cultural consonance and choosing – or not choosing – a faith-based school.

Author

• Aimee Leukert, La Sierra University
  Presenting Author