Is it wrong to send a Catholic child to a Christian school?

[connormf]

My child started at a Christian school last year. We picked this school because of their focus on kids with learning disabilities and their active spiritual community. We could not find this combination in a local Catholic school. As the high school years approach we are concerned with the lack of morality demonstrated by many Catholic teens. While there are many faiths represented in the school, very few Catholics attend. My child attends weekly Mass and the Parish School of Religion.

However, as I read more, I have become aware that many Evangelicals are anti-Catholic (something I naively didn’t understand before). Am I putting my child in danger by allowing him to attend this school? He is not afraid of defending who he is, but he is at a vulnerable age. Have I sinned by putting his educational needs ahead of his Catholic formation?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

It’s not “wrong” or “sinful” to enroll a child in a non-Catholic Christian school, particularly when there is true need to do so (such as a program specially geared to his educational needs). However, it does mean that you are going to have to be more vigilant about monitoring what your child is being taught at school, particularly about religion, especially if your son’s learning disability will make it difficult for him to distinguish between religious arguments or make him vulnerable to suasion and/or proselytism. I recommend consulting with the school’s administration to find out if school has a commitment to respecting the religious beliefs of those children whose families do not subscribe to the school’s understanding of Christianity. If the school is committed to the proselytism of its students, you probably should re-consider your son’s enrollment there.

I also recommend calling your local diocese and asking if there are Catholic schools in the diocese that offer comparable programs for those with learning disabilities. If there isn’t such a program available, then you might also look into local secular private schools. If your son’s Christian school is committed to proselytism, it may be better for your son to be in a good secular private school and taught religion at home and at church than to receive conflicting religious messages from his school and you and your parish.