Secular Curriculum vs Non-Secular Curriculum

At IndyEd.com, our goal is to provide students with a diverse array of learning opportunities. That's why we provide both secular and nonsecular (religious) education options. These designations are the divisions we use to categorize our educators and their offerings, as we recognize the importance of these two primary educational hierarchies to learners. However, we understand that these terms can be confusing for some. Let's clarify their meanings!

Secular Curriculum

Secular curriculum refers to educational content that is entirely free from religious influence or affiliation. While it may mention religion in a historical or cultural context, it does not promote or advocate for any specific religious beliefs or doctrines. Secular curricula are designed to provide a learning environment for students who prefer an education free from religious influence. With secular curriculum, you can expect topics such as evolution, the geologic age of the Earth, and other topics that don't always align with faith-based systems. You will NOT encounter topics such as young Earth creationism. There is no discussion at all of any topics that pertain to religious belief systems.

Religion can and should be discussed as needed in various secular classes. For example, a secular class on European history will discuss various religions and the role those religions played in a historical and/or cultural context. The class would NOT promote any of the doctrines or beliefs of those religions as fact. 

Nonsecular Curriculum

Nonsecular (religious) curriculum incorporates religious beliefs, teachings, or doctrines into the educational content. It may be affiliated with a specific religion or religious institution, and the curriculum reflects the values, beliefs, and teachings of that religion. Nonsecular curricula are used when the goal is to integrate religious teachings into academic subjects. With nonsecular curricula, depending on the belief system being taught, you may encounter topics such as young Earth creationism in science and history. You may or may not encounter topics such as evolution, and those topics may be discussed from an apologetics standpoint. 

There is a subset of religious curriculum called neutral. Neutral curriculum refers to educational content that, while not specifically teaching any faith based content, also does not teach secular content. In neutral science or history curriculum for example, there would be no mention of evolution or young Earth creationism.

In summary, secular curriculum is entirely free from religious influence and nonsecular curriculum incorporates religious teachings into the educational content. The choice of curriculum depends on the educational philosophy, goals, and preferences of the learner. To find the curriculum and educational resources that best fit your individual learning goals, make sure you choose secular or nonsecular from the CURRICULUM TYPE dropdown menu in our search engine. If the designation of secular and nonsecular is important to you, we recommend that you have a thorough discussion with the educator prior to purchase to ensure you are receiving the curriculum type you desire.