The Torch

In classical education, terminology matters. I have touched on this in a few previous issues of The Torch, most explicitly in writing about our Virtues. As humans limited by language, we tend to interchange terms without consideration of the impact that interchange may have on our work. I hope to lead our community in a brief exercise of discernment in regards to some terminology in answering the question of “secular” in regards to classical education. Discernment is a thought process wherein the philosopher, you and I, “sift” through words so that we can come to a better understanding of what we say. This is an ancient contemplative practice and one I have found incredibly helpful in my own life for deeper knowing of a topic.

Back in October of 2022, several Nova Classical teachers and staff attended the MN Classical Conference, sponsored by the metro classical schools as well as our authorizer, Friends of Education. This conference’s attendees were from both Christian as well as public schools, non-Christian by nature of being public. The conference has a few speakers from outside of the metro area, but the majority of the presenters come from the area's classical schools. As a result of this, a few of the presenters from Christian classical schools tended to use “classical” and “Christian” as synonymous (meaning the same thing) while discussing their presentation topic. This synonymous use was curious to me at the time and something I have been contemplating since, so I am glad to have a space to discern this terminology.

So, is classical education secular? To put it simply, yes, if we see “secular” as its dictionary meaning of “not religious”. Nova Classical Academy, as well as other metro public classical schools, are public and non-religious by nature. To go a bit further into the meaning of “secular”, it comes from the Late Latin word saecularis, meaning “of the world” or “earthly”, as opposed to the beliefs and heavenly systems above the world or earth.

On the other hand, classical education has its roots in the classical world of the Mediterranean, and those roots are deeply religious. I could write about ancient religion for days, but I will spare you that and give you some broad information for our collective understanding. Our modern way of thinking tends to look at the ancient Greek and Roman religions as childish mythology with badly behaved gods and goddesses. But just as many people are in their own current spiritual lives, many of the ancients were devout in their beliefs, however baffling to our modern sensibilities.

An additional layer to the secular versus religious aspect of classical education lies in how the ancient Greek and Roman worlds influenced modern religion, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Judaism incorporated the Greek concept of the soul into their philosophy, and Christianity and Islam incorporated Aristotelian concepts into their scholarship. This incorporation is not too surprising if we think about how it is a natural byproduct of the Great Conversation, where great thinkers of the world build upon (or sometimes reject) the philosophy of those before them. It is also a natural byproduct of classical texts as well as classical pedagogy itself preserved by these religious traditions, most significantly by the Islamic and Christian scholars in the Middle Ages.

Finally, I argue that there is much of the sacred world to be found in classical education’s content (curriculum), pedagogy (teaching), and virtues (ways of acting) despite any or no religious affiliation. Classical education is secular, both of the earth and non-religious, but is truly for everyone: all are welcome at the table.

May we continue the Great Conversation with virtue and love,

Dr. Missy Johnson

mjohnson@novaclassical.org

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2021-2022 The Torch

2022-2023 The Torch