Parents’ Perceptions of Teaching About Religion in Public Schools

There is a stereotype that highly religious parents, particularly those from the local majority religion, want their religious values reflected in the local school curriculum. In contrast, less religious parents want a general factual overview of multiple religions. However, no prior qualitative research explored these assumptions. This study interviewed 40 parents of elementary school-aged children via snowball sampling from different religious groups. Findings revealed that highly religious Christian parents residing in religiously homogeneous settings expressed their desire to integrate Christianity formally and informally in public school settings, which was different from almost all respondents from heterogeneous settings like large cities, including similar devout Christians. The results challenge assumptions about the monolithic nature of religious parents, highlighting how geographic and community composition shape educational preferences regarding religion.