(ANALYSIS) It’s back-to-school time in America. In the past few weeks, more than 54 million kids went to school at the kindergarten through 12th grade level. Add preschool and college to that number, and 79.5 million Americans are students. That’s nearly a quarter of the entire population of the country.

Most of these students go to public schools, but we have seen significant shifts in the past few years. The U.S. Census Bureau says about 7 million children, or about 13% of school-aged students, go to private schools. This includes about 3.5 million homeschooled children. Both numbers represent significant increases in the past five years.

Why has this shift taken place? The reasons are many and complex. Surveys of homeschooling parents cite a concern about the learning and social environments in the public schools and the cost of private Christian schools as top reasons for their decision to homeschool. Most private and homeschool families believe the quality of education in public schools is a factor.

A growing infrastructure is also playing a role. In my hometown of Charlotte, the number of Christian schools is growing. In North Carolina and other states, voucher programs are putting the cost of Christian schools within reach of more families. Pandemic restrictions forced Americans to look for education alternatives, and now some of these alternatives have become permanent fixtures of the education ecosystem.

Today, online educational opportunities are much more robust than they were just five years ago. In most American cities, it is easy to find homeschool cooperatives that allow high school students to get higher level math, science and other courses. Club sports give homeschoolers more athletic opportunities. Community colleges have discovered homeschoolers, and they are actively reaching out to them. Because homeschool education is self-paced, it is possible (and increasingly common) for a 17-year-old to graduate from high school with a year’s worth of college credit under his or her belt.

Some Christians – including Christian thought leaders — remain committed to public schools for convenience, but others make conscience claims. A recent defense of public schools appeared in Christianity Today, written by Stefani McDade, the magazine’s theology editor. She cited popular writer and speaker Jen Wilkin, who “has made faith-led arguments in favor of public education, citing benefits for children including a more diverse socialization, a healthy exposure to different worldviews, and fulfilling the call of being a Christian witness in the world.” Wilkins said, “Our participation in the public school system was directly related to loving our neighbors.”

Clearly, though, the numbers I have already cited confirm that a growing number of Americans find these arguments unconvincing. The growth in Christian education in all demographics undermines the arguments regarding diversity and socialization. The number of African American families who homeschool has more than doubled in the past 20 years. The Christian school my children attended is 60% White and 40% non-White – percentages that mirror the racial and ethnic makeup of our city.

Given these demographic shifts, the diversity and socialization arguments are increasingly untenable. Their other assertions fail even more basic biblical and common-sense tests. That Christian children will get “healthy exposure” to different worldviews and will fulfill “the call of being a Christian witness in the world” is an assertion without an argument. What does “healthy exposure” mean? It is easy to imagine ideologies, ideas and experiences completely inappropriate for any 6-year-old. For young children, there are no safe levels of exposure to influences they will encounter in public schools. “Healthy exposure” arguments fail to take seriously enough the biblical commands for parents to protect and nurture their children.

Even for older children, “healthy exposure” arguments presuppose a Christian worldview developed well enough to evaluate and judge other worldviews. It is hard to imagine that level of development happening in public schools. It could happen in church or at home, of course, and it should, but the simple arithmetic of a 24-hour day means that schooling crowds out those opportunities. If Christian worldview training is not a part of a child’s education, integrated into it, it is much less likely to happen.

McDade cited data from her interview with Christian public health expert Tyler VanderWeele, director of Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program, to make her point. However, the most significant finding of VanderWeele’s research is that homeschooling offered dramatic benefits to children later in life. McDade’s own article said, “Their data showed that homeschooled kids were more likely to volunteer, forgive others, possess a sense of mission and purpose, and have notably fewer lifetime sexual partners. Homeschoolers were also 51 percent more likely to frequently attend religious services into their young adulthood.”

She also cited demographer Lyman Stone, who said, “The link between religious schooling and adult religious service attendance — and probably homeschooling too — is causal. The environment that a child is exposed to does cause changes in their adult religious behaviors.”

Here at MinistryWatch, we take an active interest in Christian education. We include Christian schools and colleges in our database. We think they are vital institutions, with the power to advance God’s kingdom and the mission of the church.

That’s why this question — “Should Christians send their children to public schools?” — captured my attention. It is an important question. Though I disagree with McDade’s and Wilkins’ conclusions, I’m glad they continue to raise it. I’m glad because I think most Christian parents send their kids to public schools because they haven’t seriously engaged that question. Public schooling has become the default position for most Americans. A serious grappling with that question, and an honest assessment of Scripture and the data, unmistakably point toward the duty of Christian parents to provide their children with a Christian education.

That’s why I think a more important question for the evangelical church is this: “How can we make Christian education and homeschooling a more realistic, affordable option for more families?” If we can answer this question, the answer to the other question will change for millions of both Christian and non-Christian families.

This article was originally published at MinistryWatch.

Warren Cole Smith is the editor in chief of Ministry Watch and previously served as Vice President of WORLD News Group, publisher of WORLD Magazine and has more than 30 years of experience as a writer, editor, marketing professional, and entrepreneur. Before launching a career in Christian journalism 20 years ago, Smith spent more than seven years as the Marketing Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers.