The Wall Street Journal: “Letting Education and Religion Overlap”

Last Friday, The Wall Street Journal had an insightful “Houses of Worship” column, Letting Education and Religion Overlap, by Robert Maranto and Dirk C. van Raemdonck.  Here is an excerpt:

“Ironically, free-market, highly religious America is dominated by government-education monopolies, while social-democratic, highly secular Belgium has embraced school choice, including state-funded religious schools. Belgian parents can choose public or private schools, including publicly funded Catholic, Protestant, Muslim and Jewish schools, as guaranteed by the national constitution.

While comparing Belgium’s relatively small yet diverse population (11 million), with the U.S. is difficult, especially when it comes to social outcomes, there’s no denying that Belgian students have far outscored their American counterparts on international assessment tests.

What explains the differences in approaches to school choice? American and Belgian 21st-century education policies reflect 19th-century education politics, particularly the nations’ different responses to religious strife.”

Read the entire column here.

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