State aid to parochial educational institutions in the United States : a comparative study of Roman Catholic and Seventh-Day Adventist attitudes

Abstract

This thesis has been written to investigate a current problem—the support of church-related educational institutions in a secular society. In the United States public and parochial schools exist side by side, the rights of each guaranteed by constitution and protected by law. The Roman Catholic and Seventh-day Adventist Churches have developed, under these guarantees, denominational educational systems devoted to the maintenance of spiritual values in the young. However, the increasing demands of an expanding curriculum and the increasing school population place an onerous burden upon both public and parochial schools. Many supporters of the public system see unnecessary and expensive duplication in the parochial systems and are critical of the “divisive” influence of parochial education. They are further suspicious of church attempts to secure public aid for religious establishment in their schools. The problem is not unique to the United States. Recent developments in the city of Dartmouth, where Catholic schools are being transferred to the public school system, show that the problem is current in Nova Scotia. The Dartmouth settlement shows that this perplexing issue can be solved by men of good will. Moreover, it is highly probable that developments in education in the United States will influence Nova Scotian education in this area as they have in many others.