Most of Dewey’s views on Christianity were influenced by his education at Johns Hopkins University. As a child, he attempted to believe the church doctrines but it was not possible for him. He argued that he did not understand the theory of justice which called for vindication of individuals who committed offences according to the laws of the land followed by a reform process.
For him, this portrayed God as unfair. He also believed that the abolishment of ancient institutions that were originally inclined to Christianity was helpful to the society. One of the institutions he had in mind was the home, which played an important role in instilling discipline.
He argued that adults forced children to behave in a certain manner because they did not trust their intelligence. As a result, the habits of growing children were determined by the customs of the adults around them. Dewey believed that this was not supposed to happen because it denied children a chance to express their originality. The Christianity practiced in homes was therefore not necessary because it was simply a reproduction of the beliefs of the parents.
Dewey was not opposed to the church as a type of a social institution. He argued that churches were supposed to restore their reputation by promoting the most cherished and prized values in human beings. His contention against Christianity was the separation that existed between those who were considered saved and the lost ones. He said that religious experience was supposed to emphasize moral conviction. According to him, Christianity was good if it worked for individuals.
However, many did not see its importance thus there was no need to include it in education. This compelled him to consider the importance of universals to provide meaning, but he determined that individuals were the universals. Truth to him kept on changing as people understood and interpreted things differently. His existence in the world was characterized by empirical verification of whatever he believed in .
Dewey was of the view that human beings did not bother to know the impacts of exploring and exploiting the possibility of experience. He argued that Christianity had been contaminated by the supernatural and that it was a representation of things that were beyond experience. He therefore argued that morality was based on such supernaturalism which Christians subscribed to.
The culture in which he lived in did not receive his views on the teachings of Christ with enthusiasm. It believed that God had revealed a perfect way through which human beings understood him. Christians believed that Christianity was the only way through which human beings derived meaning or facts from anything.
To them, it was the basis of everything and nothing could be understood outside the religion. However, this was not what Dewey believed since according to him Christianity was corrupted. As a result, there were always differing points of view since the culture in which he lived in did not accept his views on the teachings of Christ
If Dewey had been alive today and presented the same ideas he presented during his time, they would not have been more accepted by today’s Christians. The culture he lived in disagreed with his views on the teachings of Christ and it would have been similar today. This is because the current Christian’s ideas on Christianity have been largely informed by the beliefs of earlier Christians.
References
Braley, J., Layman, J., & White, R. (2003). Foundations of Christian School Education. New York: Purposeful Design Publications.
Dunn, S. (2004). Philosophical Foundations Of Education:Connecting Philosophy To Theory And Practice. New York: Prentice Hall.