ABSTRACT
Schools, as socializing institutions, are invested with the responsibility of articulating social values and goals. The Protestant majority rallied in the mid-nineteenth century to establish a common school that would socialize all children, especially immigrant children in need of Americanization. Much controversy has accompanied the growth of Christian schools in secular society. By the twentieth century, civil religion had taken hold and schools had become increasingly secularized. The Christian School Movement is the fastest growing sector of private education in the United States. Paul Kienel, Executive Director of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) estimates that one million children in the United States are enrolled in Christian schools. Evangelical Protestant schools argue that public schools neither represent "common ground" nor Protestant principles. Today, middle- and working-class evangelicals support Christian schools that stress discipline and respect for authority.
