Is a Tax Supported School Different in Principle From a Tax-Supported Church?

The main education system today is in the form of public schools which are supported by taxes, and run by the state. This system has been in place in the west for many years and has become the standard in the majority of other non-western countries. Many people rely on the public school system to educate their children today, and many individuals have been educated in this method. Though the public school system has been used and adopted by the majority there are still individuals who question the system and are concerned about its flaws of the public school system, especially relating to it being run by the state. A debate or question to ask in regard to the flaws of the public system is to compare it to a tax-supported church. Is a tax-supported school any different in principle from a tax-supported church?

First and foremost many will disagree with the concept of tax-supported churches because it is clear that one does not want the state to manipulate or use the church to push their own political agenda. Any place of worship including a church is purely religious and should not be used for anything else other than being a place of worship. This explains why tax-supported churches are a rarity in today’s society.

The question is, is this any different from the tax-funded, government-run schools in today’s society? Tax-funded schools are very much at risk of having the state who runs them push out their own political agenda, to control the outcome of the student’s political beliefs or beliefs in general before they actually have a chance to discover their views themselves. Historically public education has been used as a method by various governments to bring the children of the country to not question the state regardless of if they were wrong. With the fundamentals of both the tax-supported church and school, it is clear that both are quite similar in nature, and both have similar risks.

In conclusion, there is little difference between tax-supported, public schools and tax-supported churches. Both are run by the state, and both are at risk of having the state push out their own personal agenda.