Homeschool Science Curriculum for Christians

Teaching Creationism in a Christian Homeschool Curriculum

Nov 22, 2009 John Wu

Teaching creationism can be challenging for homeschool parents when science textbooks prefer to teach evolution. Homeschool students benefit the most by learning both.

Science courses such as biology, chemistry, and physics are among the most difficult subjects for parents to homeschool, especially for Christians. For many Christian parents, it's very important to teach creationism. On the other hand, a more secular approach may be wiser.

Homeschool Science Curriculum With Evolution

Creationism is not taught in most high school and college science courses, including biology. One reason for this is because creation cannot be confirmed nor disproved with the scientific method since there is no empirical evidence or tests to confirm. Also, teaching creationism in public school violates the separation of church and state in the US. Even though many scientists do believe in God, it's not possible to include any discussion of creationism because the scientific method isn't capable of evaluating it.

In Steven Gould's essay for Natural History entitled "Nonoverlapping Magisteria," he justifies the existence of science and religion by taking the view that science and religion are compatible and complementary fields that do not have overlapping authority.

Even if parents take Gould's view, genetics and Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection dominate biology and life science courses without a mention of creationism. For Christian parents, it can be challenging to introduce God within the context of evolution, which leaves no room for a Biblical interpretation. This is why many look for a Christian textbook instead of a secular textbook.

On the other hand, secular science textbooks are excellent preparation for more advanced science courses in the future, which are almost all secular. For example, parents who want students to pass the AP (Advanced Placement) exam in Biology should use textbooks designed specifically for the exam, or use a good college biology textbook such as Campbell's Biology [Benjamin Cummings, 2004], which is used by many biology majors at universities.

Christian Homeschooling Curriculum With Creationism

Those who want to study science from a Christian viewpoint may want to look at the Exploring Creation science textbook line which include biology, chemistry, physics and astronomy. All of these books do a very good job in tying the science to the Bible. However, a frequent complaint of many users of these books is that they're ill prepared for future science courses, which are almost always secular. One reason for this is because there is too much time spent on tying the science to creationism, at the expense of some science knowledge needed in future courses.

Another problem for students studying from a Christian science textbook is that answers involving creationism will be graded as incorrect in future classes. Although the student's beliefs may be correct, they will still result in a bad grade during college because science is ill equipped to handle religious interpretations. Most colleges require at least one laboratory science course to graduate in any major, which means homeschooled students using a Christian science textbook may encounter significant difficulties passing a college science class.

Homeschool Curriculum With Creationism and Evolution

One approach to think about is this: Is it easier for a Christian homeschool parent to teach the science and have the book connect science to creationism, or is it easier the other way around? Most homeschool parents without a science degree would find it much easier to teach how the world of science conforms to creationism and let a secular textbook take care of the rest.

Another way to integrate creationism is to a secular science textbook and use a Christian one such as Exploring Creation to fill in the gaps such as an alternative to evolution. By the teenage years, students are able to make up their own minds; a balanced approach like this may work the best especially if science and religion are compatible without overlapping authority.

Reference:

Wile, Jay and Durnell, Marilyn. Exploration Creation With Chemistry Full Set with Solutions and Tests. 2nd Edition.

The copyright of the article Homeschool Science Curriculum for Christians in Homeschooling is owned by John Wu. Permission to republish Homeschool Science Curriculum for Christians in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Christian Homeschooling Curriculum