Despite the fact that most Americans embrace a theistic belief system, the United States is a secular nation, largely devoid of any theistic religious influence in its institutions, including its schools. The first two chapters in this volume examine the impact of religion on the culture, activities of the nation's public schools. The remaining six chapters deal with denomination, law, public policy and financing. All are written by scholars widely respected in their fields.

Important facet of American education

Some denominations no longer participate in hosting schools, for a variety of reasons. Those who do counted (in 1993-1994) a total of 20,531 institutions, of which 8,331 were Catholic, with an enrollment of 4,202,194, of which 2,516,130 were in Catholic schools. Thus, using numbers alone as a measuring rod, these schools constitute an important part of the American educational landscape, and deserve our attention.

Explores three vital challenges

While the movement for choice in American schooling has broadened and deepened in the last three years, three critical challenges are still facing religious schools in the United States: keeping schools affordable, yet paying a living wage to their personnel; maintaining their religious identities with the growing numbers of students who are not members of the sponsoring denominations; and keeping their religious uniqueness if public support becomes available.