In this eye-opening interview, Dr. Chrissy Stroop peels back the layers of Christian dominionism, and explains how this ideology is deeply woven into the fabric of Christian homeschooling.

Dr. Chrissy Stroop is both a former insider and an expert scholar. She has long written and shared candid stories of growing up in a Christian educational environment. Here, she recounts the ways in which evangelical ideology was deeply woven into her own educational experiences. Her experiences are a prism for a deep exploration into the world of Christian homeschooling and its dominionist influence throughout the country. As Dr. Stroop explains, the pervasiveness of Seven Mountains Dominionism in homeschooling spaces should not be underestimated. More than an implicit ideology, it is often central to the curricula adopted by homeschooling parents. 

We discuss the organizations, institutions, and ideologies behind Christian (home)schooling. We explore the role of the John Birch Society and the Council for National Policy in the grassroots development of the public school exit initiative. We discuss far-right movements that are supported by the DeVos family's school choice agenda. 

We also explore resistance, including the influential work of activists like R.L. Stollar and Torah Bontrager, as well as the importance of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. We consider the strategic defense against these movements and how to promote true separation of church and state, as well as religious pluralism.

Dr. Stroop also considers the valid reasons for pulling kids out of public schools in order to homeschool them, the difficulties of finding non-right-wing Christian co-ops and curricula, and explores how homeschooling families that do not support the right-wing Christian agenda often end up allying themselves with the Right, unintentionally.

EPISODE RESOURCES

• The Bugbear Dispatch, Chrissy’s new-ish Substack
• “Mission to Destroy Public Education Rebrands Under COVID-19: Understanding the Christian Homeschooling Movement,” by Chrissy Stroop
• R.L. Stollar’s blog and writings for Religion Dispatches
• Building God’s Kingdom: Inside the World of Christian Reconstruction, Julie J. Ingersoll

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Christian Homeschooling, Christian Schooling, Dominionism, Seven Mountains Dominionism, Anti-Vax, Anti-Mask, White Male Patriarchy, John Birch Society, Council for National Policy, School Choice, Child Rights Advocacy, Limiting Parental Control, Wisconsin v. Yoder, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, HSLDA, Charter schools, Private schools, Public school