Teaching/working in a different church from your own

Hamlowe · Monday at 3:47 PM

Pax et bonum, all. I am (again) looking for a new teaching gig for next year, and with my options in the Catholic school system diminishing, I'm looking at both public and non-Catholic Christian schools. I just interviewed today at a school run by a non-denominational church near me, and it got me thinking about how we ought to approach this sort of ecumenical employment situation. They explained to me that I'd have to be part of their church to be anything higher than a regular teacher, which I understand, but that they do have non-members working for them (presumably still Christians, though I didn't ask). Obviously I'm not going to be teaching religion or Biblical studies at this school, as that would cause obvious conflicts between how I believe the Bible should be interpreted and how this church believes it should be interpreted (even down to how many books there are!)

What are your thoughts? Would you work for a church not your own? Do you think it's possible for these sorts of arrangements to work on a sort of "mere Christianity" common-ground? Obviously we don't preach different gospels, but I wonder if the devil is in the details when it comes to this matter.

timf · Monday at 3:57 PM

If you worked in a factory, it would be inappropriate for you to use the time they are paying you to evangelize. If you worked in a secular school, it would be inappropriate to advocate your beliefs (not that that stops those on the left). Teaching a secular subject in a Christian school whose doctrines you are not in complete agreement may not be as fulfilling, but you should still be able to make it work.

If a student asks you about your beliefs, you might respond that to answer honestly you would first need to get permission from the principal as well as the parents. This might help avoid awkward moments.

DragonFox91 · Monday at 5:05 PM

I don't really agree w/ ecumenilalism, but I also learned we live in the real world, we don't live in a bubble, & we're asked to go to places our 1st choice wouldn't be. I think you will be okay

Maria Billingsley · Monday at 6:46 PM

Hamlet7768 said:
Pax et bonum, all. I am (again) looking for a new teaching gig for next year, and with my options in the Catholic school system diminishing, I'm looking at both public and non-Catholic Christian schools. I just interviewed today at a school run by a non-denominational church near me, and it got me thinking about how we ought to approach this sort of ecumenical employment situation. They explained to me that I'd have to be part of their church to be anything higher than a regular teacher, which I understand, but that they do have non-members working for them (presumably still Christians, though I didn't ask). Obviously I'm not going to be teaching religion or Biblical studies at this school, as that would cause obvious conflicts between how I believe the Bible should be interpreted and how this church believes it should be interpreted (even down to how many books there are!)

What are your thoughts? Would you work for a church not your own? Do you think it's possible for these sorts of arrangements to work on a sort of "mere Christianity" common-ground? Obviously we don't preach different gospels, but I wonder if the devil is in the details when it comes to this matter.

I am not sure what teaching children basic studies has to do with your religious denomination. Though I understand teaching in the secular world, depending on where you live, may pose a challenge on certain subjects like science ( thanks to Darwin) everything else is pretty straightforward. That being said, I honestly don't think a protestant leaning school would be a great fit , especially if you are a practicing Catholic. You will get exposed to biblical teachings with no Roman Catholic tradition. This would definitely pose a problem in your Catholic faith. If you begin to socialize with a non denominational congregation , you will constantly be bombarded with doctrines not familiar to you.

I am just being completely honest with you because Catholicism focuses more on tradition rather than Scripture. I think you will find it confusing and probably unsettling.

Be blessed.

caffeinated hermit · Monday at 6:54 PM

Depends on what you are comfortable with. If you can kind of accept things in a general, pan-Christian way and the school isn't run by a deeply, vocally anti-Catholic denomination, hopefully it would be alright. If you're just teaching reading, writing, math, and geography (as opposed to theology), again, ideally there wouldn't be anything to clash over.

PloverWing · Monday at 7:26 PM

The devil may, indeed, be in the details, so I'll ask about some of the details. My questions are based in part on church-affiliated schools I've been involved with.

1. Are teachers at the school required to affirm a particular statement of faith? Can you affirm it? (Would they want you, for example, to affirm young earth creationism, or to reject the authority of church Tradition?)

2. Some schools actively work towards an integration of faith and learning -- explicitly incorporating Christian ideas into the classroom and the subject matter. If that's part of the school's philosophy, are you comfortable doing that in a way they would expect?

3. How much variation within Christianity does the school allow? If a student asks you a faith-related question, would the school be okay with you giving an answer like "In my Catholic tradition, we think X; many other Christians think Y or Z"?

4. What subject(s) do you teach?

In general, I'm okay with working alongside Christians from other churches/denominations, as long as they're okay with having an Episcopalian in their midst. One of my family members, also Episcopalian, teaches at a Quaker school and is very happy there. I went to a Methodist-affiliated university for grad school and was quite comfortable there. On the other hand, I would not be able to teach at my (Evangelical Protestant) undergraduate alma mater, alas, because there are a couple of points in their required statement of faith that I cannot affirm. So, details.

Hamlowe · Tuesday at 8:34 AM

PloverWing said:
The devil may, indeed, be in the details, so I'll ask about some of the details. My questions are based in part on church-affiliated schools I've been involved with.

1. Are teachers at the school required to affirm a particular statement of faith? Can you affirm it? (Would they want you, for example, to affirm young earth creationism, or to reject the authority of church Tradition?)

They do have a statement of faith which is pretty straightforward. The only part I'd really quibble with is referring to Christ's death as "paying the penalty" for our sin, which isn't a framework I find useful for thinking about the Atonement, but I think that's more the realm of debate than doctrine. I mentioned in the interview that I don't think it matters as much how Christ died for our sins so much as the fact that He did, and that He rose.

2. Some schools actively work towards an integration of faith and learning -- explicitly incorporating Christian ideas into the classroom and the subject matter. If that's part of the school's philosophy, are you comfortable doing that in a way they would expect?

I think so, as long as we can meet on a "mere Christian" grounding, which I mentioned in my interview.

3. How much variation within Christianity does the school allow? If a student asks you a faith-related question, would the school be okay with you giving an answer like "In my Catholic tradition, we think X; many other Christians think Y or Z"?

Not sure--I didn't think about framing the answer that way. Could be something to look at.

4. What subject(s) do you teach?

English, though I'm in the running for a history/social studies position at this school because they filled the English position before my interview.

In general, I'm okay with working alongside Christians from other churches/denominations, as long as they're okay with having an Episcopalian in their midst. One of my family members, also Episcopalian, teaches at a Quaker school and is very happy there. I went to a Methodist-affiliated university for grad school and was quite comfortable there. On the other hand, I would not be able to teach at my (Evangelical Protestant) undergraduate alma mater, alas, because there are a couple of points in their required statement of faith that I cannot affirm. So, details.

Makes sense. This place definitely doesn't seem like an anti-Catholic group, considering they at least interviewed me!

PloverWing · Tuesday at 9:09 AM

Given what you've said, and especially given the positive description you've given of your interview, I think this could be a good place for you to work. I hope you get the job and that all goes well for you in the coming year.

RileyG · Tuesday at 4:34 PM

I think it largely depends on your comfort level and how much you want to participate.

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Teaching/working in a different church from your own

Hamlowe

World's Second-Worst Polemicist

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timf

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DragonFox91

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Maria Billingsley

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caffeinated hermit

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PloverWing

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Hamlowe

World's Second-Worst Polemicist

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PloverWing

Episcopalian

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RileyG

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