Kai
What is the difference between parochial schools and secular schools? Are parochial schools sponsered by religious groups,and secular schools sponsored by the government or charity organizations ? Do they offer the same courses?
May 18, 2019 11:45 PM
Comments · 4
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Parochial schools are sponsored by a religious denomination (in the USA, often Catholic). Parochial is the adjective of “parish” — a geographical district for (usually Catholic) church governance. In the US, they are open to school children of all faiths and usually provide better education than the public (i.e. state-run) schools.

Secular means not sponsored by  a religious group — the term “secular schools” only makes sense as the opposite of “parochial schools”. We could also say “non-religious schools”.

In the US, non-religious schools can be state-operated (called “public schools” in the US) or private (called “public schools” in the UK, strangely enough). There are also hybrids, for example where the state puts money (or vouchers) in the hands of parents and lets parents choose where to have their children educated.
May 19, 2019
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A "parochial" school is a private  school run by a church.  There are many; most notably, Catholic schools.  However there is a rise in Baptist, Methodist and other religious churches opening private schools.   Nearly all schools in America are "secular."  These public (and secular) schools are not fully funded by the Government but a lot of government money does go into them.   In general, they teach the same courses.  However, private/religious/parochial schools also teach religious courses of the belief system of the church supporting the school.  One other small difference is that in most parochial schools students where uniforms whereas in the public/secular schools they do not.  Pretty much what Dan noted above is your answer except it's important to know that public schools are "secular." 
May 19, 2019
1

In the United States there are no hard-and-fast rules, and education is governed mostly by state law and varies from state to state. However, there is a common pattern in places that have a substantial Roman Catholic population. 

The "public schools" are operated by local government (cities and towns), and financed mostly by local real estate taxes. These schools are free to residents of the town. The details can get much more complicated than that--there may be subsidies from state and federal government, and there may be fees that residents must pay for various activities. But basically, the public schools are free to residents and paid for by local real estate taxes.

"Parochial" is an adjective meaning "of the parish." The word "parish" most commonly means an administrative division of the Roman Catholic Church. The phrase "parochial school" usually means a school operated by the Roman Catholic church. The costs are paid for mostly by "tuition," a fee which the parents pay to the school. Thus, Catholic parents who send their children to the parochial school have to pay tuition to the school, but also have to pay taxes to support the public schools. As you might expect, this causes a certain amount of political tension.

Many Catholics choose to send their children to the parochial school, but many will opt for the public school. 

Usually, education is supervised by state government and parochial schools are required to meet state standards. The general curriculum and courses are similar. However, Catholic schools will include religious teaching as part of their curriculum, whereas in the United States public schools may not teach religion. (They teach about religions in history classes, and may teach the Bible as literature.)

May 19, 2019
In the US, there are no "secular schools sponsored by the government..."
May 18, 2019