Custom «Christian Views on Higher Education» Essay Paper Sample

This paper involves two major issues that form an integral part of society, namely religion and education. The main aim of the essay is to portray the view that the Christian society has on higher education. It provides the perspective from which this religion views the academic world and tries to determine its thoughts towards it. Apart from establishing the views held by Christianity with regard to higher education, it also aims to explain why these views have been put in place and its underlying reasons. The paper looks at both the negative and the positive views with concern to higher education in a bid to come up to a conclusion on the overall idea that is held by this particular religion. Needless to say, religion plays a large role in many people’s lives and, as a result, affects other parts of their belief including education.

Education has always played a key role in the society and it has been considered as one of the essential needs that individual requires. Few sectors in people’s lives are held in such high regard as education, but one in particular that can be considered to exceed this crucial issue is religion. Religion has been around since the appearance of men, and it may be its longevity that has made an essential part of daily lives of many individuals. The relationship between education and religion is a topic that has been discussed by many people, especially since the advent of science, which, although it has proved to be a friend to man and his thirst for knowledge, has also brought on a little controversy on the way some people look upon it as a disclaimer to the authenticity of their beliefs.

The relationship between Christianity and education, however, has not been so tense as many Christians believe in the need for education, and the search for it has not been condemned by the leaders. The connection between these two issues in society has always been somewhat complicated; as long as they do not directly contradict one another, they are not in total disagreement either, thus they are being left at a standstill between full acceptance and total rejection. This relationship may make it a little hard for an individual to fully understand the feelings of the religious world (in this case Christianity) towards education. The views that are held by many Christians on the subject of higher education may be complicated, but they can be simplified by being divided into two parts, namely negative and positive. This allows for both the pros and cons according to the Christian views to be easily categorized into suitable groups (Philip, 1963).

Negative Views on Higher Education.

Like any other issue, according to the Christian views held by the individuals, higher education has its advantages and disadvantages. Though these views are not exactly deadly serious issues that the Church has with the education system, they are issues that most Christian leaders would prefer to change if possible. Some of these issues include freedom of expression – although this is an issue that has been addressed by the government to enable individuals as much of it as possible, this has not been a subject that has been properly settled in the view of the church and the Christian leaders that represent it. This can be attributed to another part of government laws that separate the church and the state, thus making it illegal for individuals to involve their religious beliefs in matters such as education, especially when one has a direct contribution to this sector, e.g. being a teacher. This means that lecturers are not allowed to instill their religious views into the minds of the individuals that they teach and it should be ensured that no such discussions are held during class sessions. Though the government has come up with the laws to protect the rights of the individuals to choose their own religion without the presence of any outside influence, it has also ensured that teachers are not able to talk about their Christian beliefs with the students in class (May and Aikman, 2003).

This presents a conflict with the Christian world, as people are supposed to spread the message contained in their beliefs to anybody regardless of who they are and the position that they hold. The introduction of this separation between the church and the state effectively restrains them from doing so, in particular scenario settings, which leaves them unable to practice their beliefs in a school setting, which has left some individuals feel rather constricted. The fact that this message of spreading the religious convictions to others has been mentioned a number of times in the Bible, stresses out the importance that this practice is held by the religion. Not being able to talk about their religion in the workplace holds them in a difficult position, as they feel like they are not following the instructions that have been given to them by the Bible and thus may not be considered as good Christians, while, on the other hand, practicing their religion in this sense may lead them to losing their job all together leaving them stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place (Carper et al., 2009).

Although content is not as serious an issue as the abovementioned one, it is also an element that has not completely pleased some Christians in the education sector. Higher education provides an individual with an array of choices that they are able to consider when deciding what to study as this type of learning is not generalized unlike the previous stages. This means that a number of subjects that have risen in the result are of rather an immoral stature according to the Christian religion. Studies, which most Christians would consider a bad influence, such as sex therapy, for example, are not encouraged by the Christian community and it is safe to say that the leaders would not mind if they struck out from the curriculum. Nevertheless, this is an issue that cannot be changed by the Christian community, since every individual has the right to decide what he/she wants to study, and this includes subjects that may not be officially approved by the religion (George, 1964).

Positive Views on Higher Education.

Despite the fact that the Christian community may not be generally satisfied with the education system as a whole, there are still a lot of things that education provides and the Christian religion fully supports as well. Some of these positive views include independence – higher education provides individuals that pursue it with a further tool with which they are able to strengthen their self independent status. Higher education allows people to make a career of their choice after an adequate training; thus it can be said that it prepares one for what is commonly referred to by students talking about life after school as “life on the outside” (Carper et al., 2009).

Maturity is another perk of education, which is instilled in most individuals at the end of the academic period. Most individuals finish high school when they are still reasonably and barely out of their teen years. These individuals can be considered to be in between youth and early adulthood. Higher education gives individuals the opportunity to make a full transition before they enter the world as another people trying to make it in life. Higher education allows one to form various parts of themselves that may not have fully developed yet, such as their view of the world, as well as goals and ambitions that they may want to achieve in life (George, 1964).

In conclusion, the views that Christianity has on higher education cannot be exactly written and recorded as an official transcript, since this religion is made up of a number of denominations, not to mention individuals, who all have their particular views on the subject according to how they feel about it. However, a general outlook can be concluded from the basis of the religion’s main beliefs and attitudes towards a number of subjects in relation to this issue.