A comparative analysis of factors influencing the development of a biblical worldview in Christian middle-school students

One of the important goals of Christian education is to train students to see the world through the lens of scripture. However, Christian schools are regularly graduating students who do not think from a distinctively biblical worldview. This study utilized comparative data analysis (Kruskal-Wallis test) to investigate the relationship between four independent variables and the biblical worldview of middle-school students as measured by the PEERS worldview test. The study examined the influence of type of elementary education, frequency of church attendance, personal faith commitment, and parent Christian belief on the PEERS test scores and religion subcategory scores of students enrolled in Christian middle-school. Results suggested significant relationships between frequency of church attendance and personal faith commitment and the PEERS composite scores and religion subcategory scores. Many of the students in this study demonstrated a commitment to faith-based practices, but their worldview was strongly secular humanist. The results suggest a gap between religion-based knowledge and practices and application of scripture to real life issues. The study concludes with implications for Christian educators including an outline of a curriculum strategy for biblical worldview development and suggestions for further research.