Faith & Morality

People are complex in their nature. They have physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual elements that together form their existence and personhood. It is impossible to entirely separate any of these elements from a person’s development and identity. Efforts to do so can cause imbalance and can result in expressions of confusion, anger, and forms of mental illness.

In many of our country's educational options, conflicts occur between what a child may be taught at school and what they are taught by their parents (or by the faith-based or religious environments that their parents encourage). This may not be a universal problem, but it is one that occurs far too often—to the detriment of our children, families and society.

Consider the following statements about NWEF's approach to the role of faith and morality in schools:

Faith and morality form character and are essential elements for human flourishing and civil society.
Instruction that leads to good character formation is a critical part of education.
Intellect without a basis of morality is counterproductive for a healthy society.
Education without the application of faith and morality fails to inform the whole human experience.
Instruction in faith and morality is the primary role of a child’s parent/guardian.
Parents/guardians should be informed about the pros and cons of placing their child in an environment that will likely contradict their own beliefs.

Far from being a "religious thing" that should be doggedly kept separate from schooling, unbiased teaching about character, values, and world religions has a place in every classroom.

While all school options do not have to (and probably shouldn't) teach a particular faith or set of values, the wishes of parents should always be respected in education. And when that fails to happen, something must change.

Visit our blog at noahwebstereducationalfoundation.org

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Vision & Mission

Our Vision:

To change education and culture through foundational principles and sound policy.

Our Mission:

To educate and collaborate with individuals and organizations to tell the story of America’s education and culture, identify foundational principles that improve it, and advance practice and policy to change it.