Crucifying education: the rise and rise of new Christian schooling in Australia

There has always been a strong sector of church-led schooling in Australia. Since the 1970s this sector has become progressively stronger. Much of this strength derives from the presence of small Christian evangelical and fundamentalist schools. One explanation for the rise of these schools, aside from the mood of moral conservatism sweeping through the Australian community, particularly in the outer suburbs of its major cities, is the pro-choice attitude to education that market ideologies have fostered. This article looks at fundamentalist schooling in Australia and argues that its emergence as an alternative stream of education has many unsettling dimensions. It suggests that so-called ‘Jesus-centred’ education is a code for the transmission of deeply conservative, family values, which are at loggerheads with the ideas of diversity and tolerance.