Historical Background for the
Christian Education Requirement
by Frank Roberts, History, emeritus
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Calvin College is a college in the Reformed tradition of Christianity. Its roots go back to the sixteenth century Swiss city of Geneva. There, under the exceptional leadership of John Calvin, a Reformation movement was initiated that would very quickly become international in scope. From the beginning, it was a movement that was committed to the idea that all areas of life must be brought under the Lordship of Christ. This rather heady idea became foundational for the educational enterprise in Geneva, Switzerland. Indeed, it was the driving force that led to the restructuring of the curricula of the Genevan public schools in ways that reflected this belief. Whether the students were studying history, religion, or science; all of these areas were presented as being under the Lordship of Christ. Public education in Reformed Geneva, in other words, was at the same time Christian education. It should be noted that the Genevan Academy was added to the school system in 1559. It had the same commitments as the other schools in Geneva, but at the university level.

Wherever Reformed churches became the dominant religious force in a country or city, public school curricula were restructured, just as they had been in Geneva. This, of course, assured that teaching would be done from a Reformed Christian perspective. Two clear examples of where such a change took place during the late sixteenth century were the Netherlands and Scotland. And as long as these nations, and their national churches, remained loyal to the Reformed faith the public schools were, in effect, Christian schools. Since the public schools taught from a Reformed Christian perspective, there was no need until many years later to develop separate Christian schools alongside the public schools.

All of that changed in the Netherlands in the period between the 1830’s and the 1880’s. As the national Reformed church came to be more and more influenced by the Enlightenment movement, it also came to be influenced by theological liberalism. It should come as no surprise that in such a context the Dutch public schools became progressively more secularized. In time, the public schools no longer taught the disciplines from the Reformed Christian perspective. One result of this unfortunate development: Leaders who were still committed to the original vision of Christian education founded schools that were independent of the state. Many of those who established these schools also chose to leave the liberal national church and form their own congregations. At that time the greatest thinker and actor in the promotion of Christian education at all levels was the Dutch theologian/statesman/educator, Abraham Kuyper. The basis for his insistence on Christian education was his belief that Christ is Lord of the universe. There is not one inch of this universe, he noted, that is not under this lordship.

It should be added that one of the most important biblical texts that supports Kuyper’s claims regarding the lordship of Christ was found in the New Testament book of Colossians. In Colossians 1:16-18, Paul says, “By him (Christ) all things were created, things in heaven and on earth…; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” The seemingly natural conclusion from this statement was and is, if Christ made all things and if he holds all of creation together, then he must be central to any Christian educational efforts. How can one really understand history or science or any other discipline, if one ignores the one who created and sustains that aspect of the universe?

Calvin College was founded by the Christian Reformed Church toward the end of the nineteenth century. The Christian Reformed Church was founded by Dutch immigrants who believed deeply in the need for Christian education at all levels. They were people who had founded and supported Christian schools in the Netherlands at great cost both financially and in terms of harassment by the state. They wanted to do the same in their new country. Thus, in addition to the founding of Calvin College, these immigrants almost always established Christian elementary and, somewhat later, secondary schools wherever they settled. They did so because they recognized that Christ-centered education would not be possible in the context of a pluralist public school system such as existed in America. They knew from earlier experience in the Netherlands that the vaunted religious neutrality proclaimed by public school supporters was a myth since education always takes place in the context of religious or pre-religious presuppositions. In any case, thanks to their efforts, Western Michigan today has a very substantial network of Christian elementary and high schools. These schools are a heritage passed on to us by them.

Calvin College, of course, is committed to the very same philosophy of Christian education that Abraham Kuyper and his followers promoted. We are involved in the same noble enterprise as the Reformed Christian elementary and high schools in the Grand Rapids area. Beyond a common philosophy of Christian education, however, Calvin has had and continues to have other very close connections with these Christian schools. Most of the teachers in these schools received their education at Calvin and our graduates continue to provide faculty for them. Beyond that, about half of Calvin’s current students are graduates of these Christian schools. In addition, Calvin faculty and staff have played prominent roles in the directions these schools have taken by serving as members of the various boards of local Christian schools. The ties are close and we need to maintain them. Sending our children to these schools is an important way of retaining and strengthening these ties.

Because we share a common philosophy of Christian education, and because we are so closely tied to these Christian schools in a variety of ways, the Board of Trustees of Calvin College believes strongly that it is appropriate to require that its faculty and some of its staff demonstrate their commitment to the enterprise of Christian education by sending their children to such schools.