By standard definition, a Christian private school offers a course of educational studies that are centered on the beliefs of Christianity. A Christian curriculum comprises of basic subjects that include literacy, social studies, science and math, but it approaches the material from a more religious standpoint.
Arguably, the biggest difference between a traditional course of education and a Christian curriculum is in the subject of science. A Christian school tends to view science from a religious perspective, adopting the theory of creation over the theory of evolution. While science isn’t the only subject that Christian values, beliefs and concepts are incorporated into, it is often the main controversy for parents and the sole reason for choosing a Christian private school over a public school.
In Christian schools, everything is Christ-centered with prayers and religious practices being part of the educational process.
Instead of being a learning facility for all religions like a public school, the curriculum at a Christian private school is designed to teach a variety of subjects from a religious outlook while still focusing on academic excellence. Publishers of Christian curricula provide a range of lesson plans and materials designed to do this. Certain subjects – math being one – can still be incorporated into a Christian curriculum irrespective of whether the material comes from a secular or a traditional publisher.
Typically, public schools prohibit the use of curricula based on one religion only. Also, most of them prohibit the observance of any religious practices. There might be elective courses at high school level that discuss religion, but these would include a diverse range of cultures and religions and would approach them from a strictly academic perspective.
