In Germany, Home Schoolers Under “House” Arrest

For German parents, teaching kids about faith is as tough today as it was under the Nazis. Since Hitler’s time, home schooling has been illegal in the country. Parents who ignore the law are usually jailed or fined. In February, the world watched as a 15 year-old home-schooler was taken from her house by force and put in German custody. According to the court, her parents can only get their daughter back by enrolling her in a public school. As one German official said, “As long as you practice your faith in a church building you have no problems, but as soon as you act in accordance with your faith… in the education of your children, the freedom [quickly] ends.” What has reportedly prompted even greater government aggression against home-schoolers in Germany is the government’s growing fear of radical Islam. As Europe becomes Islamized, democratic governments are clamping down on the good and the bad. The tragedy is that the only defense against the spread of Islam is a vibrant Christian church. But increasingly, Christians will find themselves at odds with governments that see tolerance, rather than truth, as a cultural virtue.

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