Protestantism and Education
AWM
It has long been known that Protestantism brought immeasurable and widespread benefits to the nations that embraced the light of the Reformation. Our godly Reformers had a vision of universal access to education, not least so that the common people would be able to read the Word of God for themselves.
A new study has added to our understanding of the influence of Protestantism on levels of education in more recent times. The research, carried out at Bath University, has shown that many more young people attend secondary school in countries where there is a historical legacy of Protestant religion.
In spite of nearly two centuries of secularising tendencies in the Western world in general and the increasingly widespread provision of education by the state during that period, the evidence demonstrates that Protestantism has had an enduring and positive influence on education across the world. The findings were based on a study of educational data from 147 countries throughout the world over the 35-year period from 1975 to 2010. In countries with the largest Protestant populations in the year 1900 there has been a correspondingly higher enrolment rate at secondary schools in succeeding generations. “This study is the first to show that the historically positive effect of Protestantism on schooling is still noticeable today. It also shows that this is not only the case in a few traditionally Protestant countries. Rather the historically positive effect of Protestantism on schooling is a global phenomenon.”
One sad conclusion however is that modern Protestantism does not have the same influence on education as has been the case in the past. This, however, is not surprising since the light of the Reformation has been for so long rejected by the bulk of professedly-Protestant Churches. When the cause of the gospel begins to flourish again, we can fully expect a great increase in knowledge, piety and education at every level of society and throughout the nations of the earth. “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Is 11:9).